PNX Metals Limited (ASX: PNX) has identified multiple occurrences of visible gold in diamond drill core from the Fountain Head gold Project, part of the company’s broader Hayes Creek Project, located in the Pine Creek region of the Northern Territory.
Two diamond drill holes were completed in March to provide geotechnical information for the proposed open-pit mining operation and to capture new geological data from the south-eastern end of the Tally Ho lode.
Managing Director James Fox said the first diamond hole drilled into the Tally Ho zone by PNX, intersected multiple occurrences of visible gold mineralisation in fractured quartz veining between 145m and 180m down hole, which is interpreted as the extension and thickening of the Tally Ho mineralisation down-dip.
Mr Fox said the visible gold, up to 0.5 mm in size, occurs in late stage fracturing of the quartz veining and has been geologically logged in the core in nine separate locations down hole, at; 145.25m, 161.35m, 166.36m, 171.75m, 171.78m, 172.35m, 173.43m, 174.02m and 180.09m.
He said Drill hole FHDD181, and the occurrence of visible gold in the core is significant as it suggests not only that the highly prospective Tally Ho lode remains open along strike and at depth to the south-east, but that the majority of quartz veins at Tally Ho, in addition to those that have been identified as containing visible gold, have the potential to host significant coarse and nuggetty gold mineralisation.
This new information is in addition to exceptional gold grades reported recently from reverse circulation (RC) drilling, where new zones of broad high-grade gold mineralisation, including 14m at 9.22 g/t Au from 17m, have been intersected near surface in the area between the Fountain Head and Tally Ho lodes over a strike extent of approximately 100m.
In this area, historically known as ‘Ladder- Vein west’, material previously classified as waste or low-grade ore is being assessed for the potential to host grades that will potentially support early mining and an increase in gold resources.
“The drilling we are undertaking at Fountain Head continues to deliver significant results, which will help strengthen the case for the development of a heap leach operation as a source of early cashflow for the company,” Mr Fox said.
“The presence of visible gold in the first diamond hole we have drilled at Tally Ho is particularly pleasing and supports our positive view on the potential of the area to continue to deliver gold ounces into the project.”
