Great Northern Minerals Limited (ASX: GNM) has released its maiden JORC-compliant mineral resource estimate for the Central Lode at the Big Rush Gold Mine in Northern Queensland.
The study has identified a gold mineral resource of 558,322 tonnes at 2.62 g/t Au for 47,006 ounces of contained gold below excavations of the historic Central Pit. gold mine. Approximately 55% of the resource is in the indicated category with the balance in the inferred category.
Great Northern Minerals Managing Director, Cameron McLean, said the estimation of the Central Lode resource follows from the exciting high-grade RC drilling assays from Big Rush which were reported in December 2019 and January 2020.
In the last two month period we have released maiden resource estimates at both Golden Cup and Big Rush indicating the potential of the company’s projects,” he said.
“It is hard not to be excited by the prospects of 2020 and what it holds for the company.”
Big Rush, along with Camel Creek and Golden Cup, is one of three gold mines acquired by Great Northern Minerals in August 2019.
The Central Lode mineral resource is composed of four parallel mineralised domains which are located largely beneath the previously mined Central Pit.
The Big Rush Gold Mine has previous recorded production via heap leaching of 950,000 tonnes @ 1.90 g/t Au for 58,039 ounces and previous production by trial CIL Processing of 33,000 tonnes of sulphide ore @ 11 g/t Au for 10,000 ounces.
Mr McLean said that when historic gold production is combined with the current resource estimate this takes the total endowment at Big Rush to 115,000 ounces of gold which compares favourably with the company’s previous exploration target announced in July 2019.
Mr McLean also noted that the Central Lode resource at Big Rush is open along strike to both the Northeast and Southwest and also at depth.
Minimal historic drilling has occurred below a vertical depth of 75 metres or outside of the mineralisation model as seen in the long section view through the Central Lode.
Great Northern Minerals has recently completed an eight hole Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling programme at Big Rush to validate historic mineralised intercepts and to obtain further geological and QAQC data.
A significant drilling programme is planned to be undertaken at Big Rush this year with the aim of rapidly increasing the maiden resource at the Central Lode and also undertaking further testing at the Northern Pit, Southern Pit and Sergei Pit areas.