While gold prices continue to dip on increasing confidence that a COVID-19 vaccine will be available soon along with a multi-year rise increase in manufacturing and service sector sentiment, there are some who believed that the sell-off is misguided.

TD Securities told Kitco News that the upcoming US Federal Reserve meeting might provide a dose of reality including a possible extension of the weighted average maturity of Treasury purchases.

Gold is currently trading at $US1,835.65 ($2,514.33) an ounce.

Scorpion Metals (ASX:SCN) has intersected further shallow high-grade gold hits at the Cap Lamp prospect at its Pharos project in Western Australia’s Murchison district.

This includes a top result of 1m grading 22.9 grams per tonne (g/t) gold at the top of a broader 5m interval containing 8.28g/t gold from 9m, well above the 5g/t mark that is typically considered to be high-grade.

The latest intercepts follow on from previous high-grade hits such as 7m at 8.33g/t gold from 4m at the Lantern prospect and confirm the presence of mineralised shear zones and quartz veins within the highly prospective dolerite unit that runs from Cap Lamp to Beacon.

Follow-up drilling in December at the Lantern and Cap Lamp prospects will seek to confirm orientation of the high-grade mineralisation and test for extensions.

Scorpion adds the current phase two drilling has yet to complete testing of the Candle, Beacon, Salt Flat, Maguires North and Terry’s South prospect.

All drilling to date has being reconnaissance testing of each target to confirm mineralisation, structural setting and geometry.

Additionally, all prospects save Cap Lamp, Oliver’s Flat and Maguires North were blind targets beneath shallow cover in deeply weathered terrain.

 

Meanwhile, Horizon Minerals (ASX:HRZ) looks to be on track to upgrading resources at the Crake project near Kalgoorlie after Phase 2 resource extension drilling confirmed the emergence of new, high-grade mineralisation in an area with limited drilling.

Drilling returned a top hit of 28m at 3.37 g/t gold from 32m including 4m at 12.4g/t gold from 36m.

Crake currently has a resource of 73,820oz of contained gold.

A third phase of drilling is currently underway with assays expected early in March 2021 quarter.

 

NSW gold drilling

Over in New South Wales, Manuka Resources (ASX:MKR) now has a clearer picture of its Mt Boppy gold project in the Cobar Basin after completing a new 3D geological model of the Mt Boppy pit.

The model grants the company a vastly improved understanding of inherent structures, mineralisation and guidance for future exploration and mining focus.

Deeper targets within the current Mt Boppy shell have also been drilled and are awaiting results while grade control drilling is expected to be completed by the end of November.

Mt Boppy historically produced around 500,000oz of gold at an average grade of 15g/t since 1895 but little drilling has been done below a depth of 120m.

At the Wonawinta silver project, Manuka has completed an infill drilling program to update resources in the first quarter of 2021.

 

Chilean intercepts

Tesoro Resources (ASX:TSO) has highlighted the potential for the Ternera prospect at its EL Zorro project in Chile to host a large scale gold deposit after all six diamond drill holes returned positive results including multiple gold-bearing zones.

Notable intercepts are:

98m at 0.95g/t gold including 31m at 1.55g/t;
74m at 1.05g/t gold including 12.12m at 4.83g/t; and
77m at 1.13g/t gold including 15m at 3.25g/t.

Additionally, two of the holes have opened new wide gold zones to the northeast and southeast of Ternera.

Ternera is the first of five targets identified at El Zorro to be drilled.