Dateline strikes huge gold zones beyond Californian pit shell

Dateline Resources has punched out another set of monster gold hits at its wholly owned Colosseum project in California, with drilling now extending to the northeast, well beyond the planned North Pit and outside the current mineral resource shell.

The latest broad intercepts have also significantly strengthened the case for a large-scale underground mining operation beneath the proposed open pit, adding serious blue-sky upside to a project that already boasts a hefty bankable feasibility study.

Standout extensional gold hits at the North Pit included an exceptional downhole intercept of 287.3 metres grading 1.05 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from surface, featuring a spectacular high-grade core of 17.7m running at 6.13g/t gold from 19.2m. This hole was extended from an earlier depth of 149.6m following positive historical results, adding a further 140m of downhole mineralisation.

A second hole stepped out even further to the northeast and down-dip, returned a hefty 214m, clocking 1.06g/t gold from surface and included a higher-grade core of 87.9m grading 1.59g/t gold from 12.2m. The company says that the mineralisation remains open at depth. Further drilling to define the extent of the breccia pipe and gold mineralisation is ongoing.

Dateline says that these broad gold results potentially point to massive resource upside, proving that the mineralisation extends several hundred metres beyond the current resource boundary and remains entirely open at depth.

To hit the exploration accelerator, the company is recommissioning a third, company-owned drill rig. This timely addition will allow Dateline to run the truth teller over the fresh gold extensions and alongside its expanded 18-hole rare earths exploration campaign currently being conducted by two separate rigs.

Dateline Resources managing director Stephen Baghdadi said: "Gold mineralisation at the Colosseum North Pit continues to extend to the northeast and these latest drill intersections again highlight the robust nature of the deposit."

Elsewhere, the company has also completed nearly 3000m of rare earths diamond drilling across five holes, with some plunging to depths of 745m, to test its highly prospective Clark Mountain fault zone at Colosseum.

Notably, specific gravity analysis of the rare earths core samples yielded high-density readings between 2.8 and 3.1 grams per cubic centimetre (g/cm³). These big readings sit well above the typical 2.65g/cm³ historically recorded in other local gold breccia pipes and intriguingly, match the physical characteristics of the world-class Mountain Pass carbonatite rare earths deposit just 10 kilometres to the south.

Beyond its golden core, Dateline holds a diversified portfolio of critical mineral projects in California, including the Argos strontium project, which is recognised as the largest deposit of its kind in the United States. The company also recently consolidated its Music Valley heavy rare earths project in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, adding further strategic commodity depth to its North American asset base.

Dateline’s busy upcoming schedule includes plans to continue an expanded drilling program inside, deeper, and outside the North pit to define the true limits of the gold breccia pipe.

The company is also zeroing in on a suite of highly prospective gravity and magnetic anomalies south and east of the Colosseum open pits, while it waits for the first rare earths assay results from its 3000-metre drilling campaign targeting the Clark Mountain fault zone.

With a bumper bankable feasibility study now handed down, showing a pre-tax net present value of US$785 million A$1.08B)  and a 49.5 per cent internal rate of return, Dateline looks to be shaping up beautifully. 

If the company can keep pulling monster intercepts out of the California desert, it might not be long before it hitches a ride to the big league of American resource development.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au