Castle Minerals Limited (ASX: CDT) has identified anomalous gold values of up to 88.9g/t Au have been obtained during a reconnaissance sampling and mapping programme ahead of a maiden drilling campaign planned to commence in coming weeks at the Wanganui project, near Meekatharra in Western Australia.
Managing Director, Stephen Stone, said Wanganui presents an opportunity to extend shallow, open-pit mined oxide mineralisation down-plunge into fresh rock and to identify new deposits along strike. Sub-parallel structural trends forming part of a ‘horse-tail’ structural arrangement also present additional targets for discovery.
This first-pass reconnaissance evaluation by Castle has reinforced its decision to acquire the Wanganui project and confirmed that, in addition to the Main Lode trend, there are several other compelling targets associated with sub-parallel and cross-cutting structures,” Mr Stone said.
“We are looking forward to commencing shortly at Wanganui a maiden 2,000m RC drilling programme.”
Fresh mineralised quartz vein material collected from a mullock heap at the Main Lode South Pit returned 5.99g/t Au, confirming the expectation for down-plunge continuation of mineralisation.
Channel sampling of a strongly laminated and up to 3m wide, remnant footwall quartz vein exposed in the shallow Main Lode North and South Pits returned values of up to 0.75g/t Au in the oxide zone. This is consistent with nearby historical drilling into the area. Access for sampling was generally restricted due to water in the pit.
At the parallel Far East lode, 750m to the east of Main Lode and also trending north west, rock-chip samples taken at a rare exposure of strongly sheared granite outcrop returned 13.35g/t Au and 6.26g/t Au.
Mr Stone said this provides strong evidence for a southerly strike extension of mineralisation in this lode.
He added that the company was particularly encouraged by the discovery of some old workings coincident with a parallel structure interpreted from aeromagnetics and 1.5km east of the Main Lode. Sampling of an adjacent mullock heap returned 88.9g/t Au.
Assays of up to 5.08g/t Au and 3.48g/t Au were obtained from rock-chip samples taken along the Queenslander lode cross-structure indicating that this is also mineralised.