Belararox has seven Bullabulling, ‘Geko lookalike’ gold targets to test

Belararox is keen to start drilling at its Bullabulling project area in Western Australia after 3D prospectivity modelling identified seven new high priority drill-ready targets.

Importantly, these targets have the same geophysical, geological and geochemical characteristics as the nearby 3Moz Bullabulling and 320,000oz Geko gold mines.

Equally, the new targets will allow Belararox (ASX:BRX) to test the depth potential of the project area where historical drilling has been mostly shallow.

The targets cover a 1,400m by 400m area and extend 250m downdip of the contact with the most important targets associated with a sub parallel anticline similar to the Bullabulling gold mine anticline and a gold soil anomaly that follows the strike of the hinge zone of the anticline.

Additionally, the anomalous gold intersections associated with the prospective areas have yet to be followed up in the company’s tenements.

“The prospectivity modelling has provided significant insight into the exploration potential of the Bullabulling Project to host Archean orogenic gold mineralisation similar to the adjacent 3Moz Bullabulling and 320Koz Geko gold mines,” Managing Director, Arvind Misra said.

“Importantly, we now have seven high priority targets that will form the basis of our drilling program, planned for Q3 2022.

“We continue to take advantage of 3D prospectivity modelling technology in order to more accurately map the location of prospective targets for new gold deposits.

“This is particularly important at Bullabulling given that historic drilling has not adequately tested the depth potential of the prospective areas.”

Proximity to existing production

Bullabulling is an early-stage exploration project consisting of 26 granted prospecting licences surrounding the 3 million ounce Bullabulling Gold Mine owned by Norton Gold Fields.

Gold mineralisation is hosted by a folded north-south trending ultramafic and mafic contact zone, which can be traced along strike for 11 km, is up to 300 m wide, and dips at about 45 degrees to the west.

Additionally, gold-bearing sulphides occur in lenses up to 20 m thick, which are controlled by several overprinting structural events with the highest grades associated with younger shear zones that have steepened pre-existing high-strain zones.

The tenements that make up the project are also interpreted to cover repetitions of this ultramafic and mafic contact based on 3D geological mapping using seismic data.

Belararox identified the new targets by comparing the prospectivity values with the training data of known gold mineralisation in the Bullabulling goldfield.

Each area was attributed with information from each input map and the post probability values from the 3D model and ranked according to their prospectivity results.

Unsurprisingly, the Bullabulling and Geko mine areas ranked highest, which confirms the ability of the prospectivity model to map new unexplored areas for gold mineralisation.

Preparing to drill

Drilling planning is currently underway to test the seven targets below the weathered profile with a focus on the ultramafic amphibolite and amphibolite contact where it steepens in dip along the western limb of the anticline mapped from the seismic data.

Belararox expects to drill these holes once resource drilling at the Belara project is completed and resource estimation studies are underway.

This article was developed in collaboration with Belararox, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.