Great Northern Minerals Limited (ASX: GNM) has identified deep potential and a number of drill targets following a geological review of its Golden Cup and Big Rush gold projects near Townsville.
The company said the studies found that exploration to date at Big Rush and Golden Cup and Camel Creek has focused on shallow mineralisation of less than 100 m depth. However, a distribution of drilling at the same scale at the nearby Fosterville gold deposit indicates the depth potential is essentially untested.
Managing Director, Cameron McLean, said the historic gold mining centres at Big Rush and Golden Cup have had very limited work completed over the last 15 years.
However, the recent geological review has highlighted several geological similarities with Fosterville and generated new drill targets which are planned to be drilled as soon as possible.
The new geological work involved relogging and reinterpretation of the recent successful drill programmes beneath the Central Pit at Big Rush and Golden Cup which had returned a number of significant intersections including:
BIG RUSH
- 24m @ 4.0 g/t Au and 2m @ 35.2 g/t Au;
- 27 m at 2.7 g/t Au including 5 m at 12.6 g/t Au; and
- 29 m at 2.2 g/t Au including 3 m at 14.5 g/t Au.
GOLDEN CUP
- 7 m at 7.5 g/t Au including 1 m at 43.2 g/t Au; and
- 9m at 4.7 g/t Au including 3 m at 11.5 g/t Au.
Based on the age and type of the host rocks, structural setting and sulphide mineralogy, the company has identified an analogy with the nearby Fosterville gold deposit.
Deep drilling in 2015 at Fosterville below the shallow modest resource unlocked the deep potential by intersecting bonanza free gold ore zones.
Anomalous gold mineralisation is also known to occur over large strike lengths with mineralisation at Big Rush extending over 2.5km of strike and is open at depth and at Golden Cup gold mineralisation extends for over 1.7km of strike and is also open at depth.
The company said the recent drilling completed by GNM has confirmed the continuity and tenor of the higher gold grades.
