ASX listed EMU N.L has upped the ante in the Andes where it now has three drill rigs double shifting as the company pulls out all stops to complete its exciting maiden drilling campaign at its Chilean gold project.
In a market update this week, Perth-based explorer EMU said that after some initial technical drilling setbacks, the rods were turning on site with Australian contractor Wallis Drilling’s aircore rig now working in tandem with a Chilean RC rig and a local diamond rig, also owned by a Chilean drilling contractor.
EMU shareholders can look forward to a flood of assay results in the coming weeks and if Emu M.D Greg Steemson’s up beat assessment is anything to go by, they may well turn out to be quite interesting.
Steemson, a 40-year mining veteran and former founding Director of Sandfire Resources, is unwavering in his geological conviction for the project. He said: “It is uncomfortable to hold ones course in the face of opposition, operational challenges and set-backs. At various stages during the last 40 years I have had to stand my ground and back my judgment. De Grussa is a case in point and the deposit wouldn’t have been discovered had others had their way.”
“At the beginning of this field season, I was concerned about the current level of erosion at Vidalita with respect to the level at which an ore deposit may have been formed. All the evidence gathered last field season and this field season convinces the entire Emu team that we are above the source of the geochemistry we have encountered in the surface sampling and drilling. 40 years plus of successful exploration, convinces me that there is an ore body to be found in this area. Drilling is needed and lots of it.”
Emu is now looking to complete 6000m of drilling by the end of April within the region that is known as the Maricunga mineralised belt.
EMU holds 6,900 hectares of exploration concessions across the Vidalita and Jotahues project areas, located about 120km east of the city of Copiapo.
The project boasts some prestigious neighbours too, notably, Barrick, Anglo America, Goldcorp, Teck and Lumina, all of which have serious looking projects in the region.
The area is headlined by the Salares Norte project, a 3.3-million ounce gold and 42.1 million ounce silver discovery.
Alturas’ nearby project is also impressive with its 5.5 million ounce gold endowment discovered by Barrick in 2015.
Despite some technical hiccups earlier this year, EMU was back on track this week. Recent good weather and a concerted effort to make up for earlier frustrations has put an extra spring in Emu’s step.
The company said of its activities at Viladita, “Emu intends, subject to satisfactory performance, to drill as many RC holes as possible this season.”
“The camp at Vidalita is in the process of being substantially expanded to accommodate the additional personnel required to operate the RC diamond equipment. Weather conditions on site remain seasonally mild.”
EMU’s conviction that a lucrative pay zone exists beneath a geological “steam cap” is supported by drill core that has already confirmed host rocks potentially accommodating a large, high sulphidation, epithermal gold/silver system. Critically, the drill core has confirmed that the surface geochemistry has a local source.
