Delecta gets feet moving on Speedway gold exploration

Delecta has started its engine at Speedway in Utah, engaging an experienced geologist to start exploration work on the recently acquired gold project.

An experienced Nevada geologist with considerable Carlin-style gold deposit experience has commenced fieldwork at Delecta’s (ASX:DLC) Speedway project, with the program spanning more rock sampling and geological mapping of the mineralised breccias with the aim of determining their stratigraphic control.

Rock samples are currently being collected and assays are expected back in April. Drone magnetic surveying and an orthophoto survey will kick off later this month, with all exploration aimed at identifying drill targets.

Managing director Malcolm Day said the company had set about exploring Speedway in quick time.

“We secured the Speedway gold project in late January and have hit the ground running,” he said.

“Over the next few months various exploration activities will help us better understand the geologic setting and mineralisation throughout the project and further assist us with defining drill targets.

“We are exploring Speedway in a world-class gold district in the very mining-friendly state of Utah.”

Delecta’s acquisition in January came with a historical database of more than 800 chip samples with very little follow-up testing of identified anomalies.

Despite this, the Speedway project shows strongly anomalous gold sample results over 2.5km of strike.

The gold anomalies lie within Pennsylvanian and Permian carbonate rocks, and the current mapping program aims to identify large-scale controls to the gold mineralisation.

Due diligence sampling has already been completed at Speedway, with the results confirming the existence of multiple mineralised outcrops with strongly anomalous gold values associated with brecciated and altered limestone rocks.

That program of 59 samples included one which returned 1.24 grams per tonne gold with silicified brecciated limestone.

The sample sat adjacent to a legacy Torq Resources sample which assayed 0.982g/t gold.

Due diligence rock chip sampling proved successful. Pic: Supplied

All about Carlin

The term Carlin-style refers to the region’s Carlin trend – a geological formation known for its gold prospectivity.

Speedway is located just 40km south east of Newmont Corporation’s 2.3-million-ounce Long Canyon gold mine – a Carlin-style gold deposit which has similar stratigraphy to Speedway.

Both Long Canyon and Speedway sit in the shelf carbonate sequence which extends east of the Carlin Trend and into Utah. Long Canyon’s presence is said to have raised awareness of the potential for gold projects in far western Utah.

Most of the historic work carried out at Speedway pre-dates the discovery of Long Canyon, meaning past explorers may not have understood the significance of limestone breccias carrying gold mineralisation in the region.