Golden State is closing in on the prize at its Yule project with Phase 3 aircore drilling at Yule East intersecting encouraging gold and base metal pathfinders.

Notably, the reconnaissance drilling has identified what appears to be a northwest to southeast trending structure between two gold intersections at Areas 1 and 2 that remains poorly tested and is open to the northwest and southeast.

Drilling elsewhere in the project has also yielded fruit with Golden State Mining (ASX:GSM) noting that drilling at Target 1 at Yule South has returned a 1m hit grading 120 parts per billion at a depth of 89m along with several at or near surface anomalous gold intersections in weathered metasediments.

Assays are also pending for the remaining 25% of the program.

Managing director Michael Moore said the company had long recognised the gold and lithium potential of the Mallina Basin prior to De Grey’s (ASX:DEG) Hemi discovery and had spent the past three years building a regionally significant exploration footprint and database to exploit.

“The first two AC programs have justified our belief in the gold and lithium potential at Yule and this recent air-core program, including the inaugural program at Yule East has continued to validate our targeting strategy by delivering further gold and pathfinder anomalism for follow up drilling,” he added.

“With less than one drill hole per square kilometre drilled so far, the full exploration potential at Yule is still to be realised. The company will continue the charge at this under-explored project in its quest to deliver a new discovery.”

Searching for economic mineralisation

Besides the intriguing potential structure noted between Areas 1 and 2, drilling at Yule East also returned additional gold and potential base metal pathfinder anomalism that the company is now studying as potential vectors to economic mineralisation and increase its understanding of the Mallina Basin’s geological setting.

Golden State is also following up on the anomalous bedrock gold and potential for paleo-channel related mineralisation at Target 1 given its location “downstream” of Hemi.

This has some serious benefits if successful, given that its neighbour has defined a very healthy 6.8Moz resource at Hemi that still has plenty of room to grow.

Drilling at Yule South also returned a 4m intersection grading 200ppb from a depth of 30m in a weathered saprolite horizon while transported cover related gold mineralisation (6m at 190ppb from 24m was intersected within an interpreted paleochannel.

This shallow paleochannel anomaly requires follow-up drilling to test its extent and potential gold source.

Upcoming activity

The company is currently continuing preparations for a follow-up reverse circulation drill program at Target 2A and Target 5 to test their lithium potential.

This program is expected to start early in the second quarter subject to rig availability.

Detailed drill data compilation is also underway to plan a targeted RC program for early in the second quarter to test anomalous zones and as extensional and infill reconnaissance drilling of unexplored gold targets.

 

 

 

This article was developed in collaboration with Golden State, 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.