Riversgold has identified the system may be much larger than first thought Pic: Getty Images
Riversgold continues porphyry perforation at Northern Zone
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- Aircore drilling continues to tap into a large, blind porphyry system
- Results come after a record gold interval at Northern Zone
- Plans are developing to continue drilling the upper elevation
Special Report: Riversgold has continued to tap the top of an extensive gold porphyry system 25km from Kalgoorlie.
The first eight holes of Riversgold’s (ASX:RGL) 30-hole aircore drilling campaign over the Northern Zone project have continued its success in hitting the top of an extensive gold-bearing porphyry system.
Widths are now approaching 600m, and Riversgold says this latest batch has further validated the geological model for an exploration target set for between 200-250Mt at a grade of 0.4-0.6 g/t Au.
Riversgold chairman David Lenigas said the latest drilling and geological modelling confirmed the presence of significant gold within an expansive, yet still undefined massive porphyry system.
“We’ve now identified that the porphyry system may be much larger than originally prognosed, with one section, as shown in this release, extending up to 600m in width,” Lenigas said.
“We are developing plans to drill across the tenement to further explore the upper elevation of this blind porphyry. Additional drill results are pending, and this gold project is fast becoming very interesting.”
Significant results include:
- 4m @ 0.63 g/t Au from 27m
- 1m @ 1.04 g/t Au from 63m
- 1m @ 0.3 g/t Au from 32m
- 1m @ 0.32/t Au from 27m
- 2m @ 0.94 g/t Au from 36m
- 1m @ 1.95 g/t Au from 34m
Earlier excitement
Last month on its march to convert the exploration target, Riversgold returned another batch of significant, shallow gold intercepts.
The crop, featuring a headlining 16m at 4.69g/t gold intercept from 30m, comes after Riversgold recorded a top 27.5g/t record interval, and from a successfully targeted overlying blanket of shallow mineralisation in an oxide zone lying above a gold mineralised porphyry system.
Other significant intercepts included:
- 4m at 6.9 g/t Au from 39m
- 3m at 3.32 g/t Au from 35m
- 9m at 1.2 g/t Au from 31m
- 3m at 2.68 g/t Au from 31m
- 3m at 2.11 g/t Au from 46m
- 4m at 1.47 g/t Au from 30m
And a single-metre assay from the drill hole which recorded an 18m at 4.14 g/t Au has since returned a higher-grade core which includes a 10m stretch at 4.94g/t.
Expansive exploration target
While some might claim grade is king, there are many more factors that maketh the mine, and a much bigger amount of lower-grade material can make a rightful claim to the throne.
Saturn Metals (ASX:STN) and its 105Mt at 0.54g/t 1.8Moz gold project sitting 175km north of Northern Zone was the early benchmark for RGL, which had seen enough from early work to establish an exploration target at a similar grade for a maiden resource of up to 4.8 million ounces.
Even the target’s lower end of 2.5Moz would offer a substantial collection of ounces now flirting with a price tag of US$3000 a pop in the preeminent gold-producing region of Kalgoorlie.
This article was developed in collaboration with Riversgold, 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.
