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Moho buoyed by significant CSIRO gold anomaly discovery at Empress Springs - The Pick Online Magazine

Written by Staff Writer | Mar 23, 2021 11:18:16 AM

Moho Resources Ltd (ASX:MOH) has received positive results from a regional hydro geochemistry borehole sampling programme at the Empress Springs project in North Queensland.

In a recent study of the area, Australian scientific body CSIRO identified a strong 90km plus gold anomalism.

The hydro geochemistry study with the CSIRO was initiated in mid-2020 for the Empress Springs project. The collaborative study was designed to use water samples collected from water bores to locate potential chemical signatures evidencing large mineralised systems hidden beneath the cover rock sequences. The results will be used by Moho to orient and focus exploration towards finding new mineralisation in the Empress Springs project area.

Following reporting of the data by CSIRO, expert analysis by geochemist Dr Justin Drummond of IGO has outlined a number of important findings, including the Croydon-Au-Index calculation.

The gold indices calculated by IGO highlight gold anomalism around the inferred ‘caldera’ in both the Moho and Giblin datasets, as well as a strong gold anomaly in bores to the SE of the currently granted Moho tenement package.

The geochemical analysis generated a number of gold and base metal saturation indices maps. This ‘porphyry’ intrusive indicator index is used to enhance the groundwater signature of the key alteration or mineralisation elements Sn, W and Mo that are more mobile in groundwaters at neutral pH and thus provide a broader footprint than a single target element.

The CSIRO work includes numerous plots that identify samples that could be attributed to mineralisation (Cu, Mo, Bi, PC3,34S/2H isotopes, SO4:Cl) which CSIRO feels is very encouraging for ongoing exploration in the Moho tenements. The work also highlighted broad and high-level gold anomalism across the Empress Springs project which CSIRO has not seen elsewhere in this high concentration range and with these groundwater conditions.

In addition, the PC3 score shows strong negative loadings of Bi, Pb, Cu, Sb, Sn and Cd reflecting the mineralisation already identified at the Yappar prospect by Moho in air core drillholes in 2019.

Consultant geochemist Richard Carver also analysed the data and agreed that gold anomalism at a regional scale is impressive and the area of lower pH in the project area could be due to weathering of sulphides. He also notes the W-Mo anomaly close to the interpreted caldera which also hosts a Sn-Cu-Pb anomaly associated with the only Moho samples with values above the detection limit.

Moho management said they are very encouraged by the evaluation by CSIRO, IGO and Richard Carver of these geochemical results and has applied for an additional 1018 sq. kmof EPM area to cover these hydrogeochemical anomalies.