Assays from the remaining nine RC holes are due in the next two to three weeks. Pic: Colin Anderson Productions pty ltd / DigitalVision via Getty Images.
Great Boulder reckons shallow, high-grade gold at Ironbark has open pit potential
Mining
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Great Boulder Resources (ASX:GBR) MD Andrew Paterson says the company’s Ironbark discovery at the Side Well Gold Project in WA is looking “increasingly exciting” off the back of recent RC drilling intersecting high-grade, shallow gold.
“Ironbark is looking increasingly exciting, with thick high-grade mineralisation extending close to surface and some really solid high-grade zones in the fresh rock,” he said.
Best results from the drilling included:
- 32m at 2.48g/t from 24m, including 20m at 3.19g/t from 24m;
- 17m at 5.81g/t from 120m, including 6m at 7.38g/t from 120m and 6m at 8.76g/t from 131m.
And re-split assays from 4m composites sampled in the Phase 1 RC program at the project have refined the high-grade intersections, including:
- 12m at 10.24g/t from 120m, including 4m at 25.90g/t from 120m; and
- 7m at 8.44g/t from 107m.
Assays are pending for the remaining drill holes, and RC drilling is ongoing at Mulga Bill.
Potential for open pit mining
“The significance of these new results is that they support our early impression Ironbark may have potential for open pit mining, with ounces close to surface,” Paterson said.
“Ironbark could be a game-changer for Side Well in the sense that near-surface ounces have potential to make a future mining scenario more attractive.
“I am very keen to see the assay results from the remaining holes in this phase of drilling.
“We don’t yet know whether Ironbark has been closed off along strike, and it is definitely open at depth.”
Test work underway and more drilling
Metallurgical test work is underway with final results expected in around two months.
“We have already commissioned a round of metallurgical testing on Ironbark samples,” Paterson says.
“The test-work will look at gravity recoveries, grind size optimisation and total recovery using cyanide, similar to the test-work we completed recently at Mulga Bill.”
RC drilling is progressing on the Mulga Bill corridor, and a program of works (PoW) approval has now been lodged for a third round of RC drilling at Ironbark.
Once all Phase 2 assays have been received, the company will reassess priorities at Side Well, with an option to accelerate drilling at Ironbark to move towards a maiden Mineral Resource Estimate in the medium term.
This article was developed in collaboration with Great Boulder Resources, 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.
