Strickland wonders whether the gold mineralisation at Palomino had been understated in historical drilling data. Pic via Getty Images.
Exceptional high-grade gold hits at Strickland’s Palomino call historical data into question
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- Exceptional gold hits represent significant expansion of Palomino’s mineralised footprint
- Intersections bring modelled gold mineralisation closer to the surface
- Further drilling on the cards to keep expanding Palomino
Special Report: Strickland Metals is once again proving itself to be quite the gold hunter after producing significant gold intersections from drilling in an area first thought to be devoid of mineralisation at the Palomino prospect.
Strickland Metals’ (ASX:STK) deposit-growing credentials stem from the sale of its Millrose gold project to Northern Star Resources (ASX:NST) last year for $61m – cash it’s using to put straight back into the ground at the Yandal gold project, of which the new Palomino deposit is becoming a big part of.
Drilling at Palomino is supported by success at the Bronco-Konick prospects at the Horse Well project area, where recent RC drilling assays returned a highlight 89m @ 3g/t from 18m to end of hole.
Unexpected expansion of Palomino
Palomino is continuing to deliver excellent assay results, with a highlight intersection in hole HWRC256D of 10.6m @ 7.5g/t Au from 161.4m, including 3m @ 21.2g/t.
That intersection is a continuation of the lode found last week in the first diamond hole drilled, which showed 13.7m @ 6.3g/t gold from 133.4m, including 3m @ 20g/t gold.
“It’s very pleasing to see the continuity of this lode down plunge, and bodes very well for pending results and ongoing drilling,” STK chair Anthony McClure says.
Possibly of more significance, however, is the intersection in hole HWRC254 which showed 9m @ 2.4g/t Au from 22m and 21m @ 1.0g/t gold from 76m.
McClure says mineralisation was not expected to be encountered in the lower portion of this hole as it’s outside of the current Palomino mineral resource and significantly expands the mineralisation footprint.
“This includes bringing the modelled mineralisation closer to surface. The shallower ground in the immediate proximity of this intersection, as well as further to the northwest, is yet to be drilled and opens up a very promising exploration frontier for future drilling.”
Significant gold anomaly identified nearby
In line with the potential for mineralisation to continue opening up to the northwest, McClure says a significant IP anomaly has been identified ~600m along strike from the current Palomino drilling.
“The anomaly is ~400m-long and sits at the intersection of the Palomino shear structure and the Clydesdale splay structure and we’re planning a number of drill holes to test the target.
“Just as results from the first two diamond holes exceeded expectations in terms of both grade and width, the same can be said for the assays reported today.
“This again brings into question whether historic results from the 1990s are underrepresenting the grade of the gold mineralisation and additional drilling is required to confirm this.
“Drilling is continuing to proceed well on site, with more assays from Palomino and Bronco expected shortly.”
This article was developed in collaboration with Strickland Metals, 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.
