Black Cat Syndicate Limited (ASX: BC8) has commenced Surface RC drilling at the 100% owned Paulsens Gold Operation in Western Australia.
Drilling is initially targeting two prospective fault zones that host outcropping gold mineralisation:
- The Eastern Zone of the Paulsens mine is an ~2.5km long plunging mineralised trend sub-parallel to the Main Zone, ~350m from the decline. The Eastern Zone has only seen limited drilling, despite encouraging historical results and early-stage Resources (12.7koz @ 10.81g/t Au)1. An initial 4-hole program (565m) is planned to test down plunge from historical surface samples that returned up to 29.7g/t Au.
- Belvedere is located 5km from the processing plant and is a Paulsens-style target with >2.5km strike extent of identified mineralisation at surface. To date, limited drilling at Belvedere has identified a shallow Resource of 30koz @ 3.9g/t Au.
Part of the current Resource at Belvedere was included in the July 2023 Restart Study and will feature in the November 2023 Restart Study.
The current drill programme of 14 holes (~2,000m) is focussed on an ~500m section of the Belvedere Trend to the north of the current Resource. Drilling is targeting fault-hosted quartz vein mineralisation along the Belvedere Fault, which has returned up to 47.30g/t Au from historical surface sampling. Drilling will also target a Cu-bearing quartz vein in the footwall of the Belvedere Fault, which has returned surface samples up to 13.57% Cu.
Detailed mapping and surface sampling is ongoing. This programme is currently focused on the Belvedere- Tombstone area, which recently returned surface samples up to 3.60% Cu.
We are excited to be starting a new phase of exploration around Paulsens. Regional targets have previously been relatively underexplored, with only limited drilling outside the Paulsens mine. Drilling at the ~2.5km long Belvedere Trend amongst historic workings and high-grade rock chips is a priority,” Managing Director, Gareth Solly, said.
“Ongoing mapping and sampling in this area is increasing our understanding of the Belvedere district. The region is also prospective for copper and the Belvedere programme includes our first ever copper focussed drilling.
“As shown by our recent underground Resource update, drilling is the key to unlocking the significant gold opportunities in the region. With a funding solution progressing we look forward to being the only gold producer in the region in 2024.”
