Askari Metals Limited (ASX: AS2) has identified further exploration potential for gold mineralisation after a strategic review for the 100%-owned Mt Maguire gold project based on all available historical exploration data.
The focus of the review was to identify follow up gold exploration targets on the Mt Maguire gold project given the high commodity pricing environment for gold as well as to strengthen the company’s gold exposure given the recently delineated maiden JORC (2012) Mineral Resource and JORC (2012) Exploration Target at the Burracoppin Gold Project.
The considerable exploration potential for gold mineralisation within the Mt Maguire gold project presents an immediate opportunity.
The Mt Maguire gold project is located approximately 10km south of Paraburdoo and 200km west of Newman in the Pilbara Craton of Western Australia.
The Mt Maguire project is prospective for gold, base metals, and iron ore, with mineralisation generally associated with structurally controlled quartz veins and stringers.
The prospectivity of the area has been highlighted through the discovery of several gold deposits, most notably the Mt Olympus mine (now known as the Ashburton Project, Kalamazoo Resources) which is located 10km along strike to the southeast of Mt Maguire and situated on the greater Nanjilgardy fault system.
Historical drilling has revealed high-grade gold mineralisation that has been largely overlooked for over 20 years.
Several companies have explored the project, with the bulk of the work completed in the late 1980s and again in the early 2000s.
The historic work focused on three main areas, namely the Caffrey’s, Murphy’s, and Guinness prospects and which included the collecting of 1,194 soil samples, 56 rock chip samples, and 101 stream sediment samples. Shallow drilling has also been completed with 3 air-core, 6 reverse circulation, and 98 RAB holes having been completed to date.
Several encouraging intercepts were returned by the drilling, highlighting the potential of the project. The shallow nature of the drilling is also considered positive by the company as the depth and strike extents of the mineralisation remain untested.
“The Mt Maguire project has surprised me with the numerous high-grade gold intercepts at near surface that have been largely untouched since the 1990s. The Ashburton Region of Western Australia is a highly prospective and active mining district with demonstrated prospectivity for high grade gold and base metals discoveries,” Managing Director, Gino D’Anna, said.
“With sporadic drill testing and an average drilling depth of only ~40 metres, the Mt Maguire project is essentially unexplored at depth and along strike.
Geological review work by our technical team has identified a number of walk-up drill targets with excellent potential to yield a substantial gold resource. Upon completion of our technical review, we intend to begin field work to test these targets and I look forward to a steady stream of news flow going forward."
