Waratah Minerals (ASX: WTM) has obtained additional high-grade results from its on-going drilling programme at the Spur Project in the Lachlan Fold Belt of New South Wales.
The Spur Project (EL5238) is located 5km west from Newmont Corporation’s Cadia Valley Project (>50Moz Au, 9.5Mt Cu1), and is hosted in equivalent Late Ordovician aged geology of the Molong Belt within the wider Macquarie Arc.
Waratah’s exploration strategy of targeting the margins of the Cargo Intrusive Complex at the Spur Project, for epithermal-porphyry mineralisation, is supported by the importance of this setting at several major deposits nearby e.g. Cadia (>50Moz Au & 9.5Mt Cu1), Cowal (9.6Moz Au, Evolution 2023) and Boda (6.4Moz Au & 1Mt Cu, Alkane 2023). The coincidence of early K-feldspar + albite + tourmaline, pervasive albite- silica-hematite (Inner-propylitic), skarn porphyry alteration with later high-grade epithermal veins/stringers indicates the epithermal gold mineralisation likely represents the upper-levels of a preserved epithermal- porphyry system.
“Spur continues to deliver exceptional drilling results, the results from hole 7 are pivotal, demonstrating a dramatic increase in grades downdip and an association with copper as predicted by our epithermal-porphyry exploration model,” Managing Director, Peter Duerden, said.
Drilling has identified an open zone of shallow high-grade mineralisation, results from hole 7 include 89m @ 1.73g/t Au, 0.08% Cu from 115m, including 57m @ 2.50g/t Au, 0.11% Cu from 115m, also 16m @ 5.59g/t Au, 0.32% Cu from 156m and 9m @ 9.33 g/t Au, 0.38% Cu from 163m.
The company’s maiden RC drilling programme at the Spur Project was designed to test extensions of shallow epithermal gold mineralisation and investigate a potential link with an alkalic porphyry gold-copper system down plunge. Eighteen RC drillholes have been completed to date totalling 2934m, with results received for eight holes.
Additional holes are being planned and permitted, with drilling activity to recommence in early July 2024.
