Emu NL has uncovered a treasure trove of gold mineralisation at its Gnows Nest project in WA, with the company’s maiden drilling program delivering a haul of high-grade intercepts including 3 metres at a stunning 42.18 grams per tonne gold, including an even more impressive 1m at 89.57 g/t gold from 78m down-hole and 4m at 20.4 g/t gold from only 51m down-hole.
The company is currently knee-deep in a 9,000m reverse circulation drilling program across Gnows Nest, with both the old Gnows Nest mine area and the Monte Cristo prospect feeling the drill bit. Emu has now received the results from the first 33 holes of the program which account for around 3,741m of drilling, with the promise of a cascade of results in the coming weeks.
Additional intervals from the Gnows Nest mine include 4m at 18.32 g/t hosting 1m at 51.66 g/t gold from 96m and 2m at 26.88 g/t gold hosting 1m at 53.05 g/t from only 60m down-hole.
Emu says the mineralisation continues below the current Gnows Nest resource and extends along strike to the north towards the Triumph and Monte Cristo prospects and south towards the Brilliant discovery.
Drilling has also kicked off at the Monte Cristo prospect which also hasn’t disappointed with best numbers including 3m at 13.35 g/t gold from 67m and 6m at 6.51 g/t gold, hosting 1m at 22.77 g/t gold from 120m down-hole.
Interestingly, the Gnows Nest and Monte Cristo prospects are more than 3 kilometres apart, hinting at a much larger gold system than was previously recognised.
Emu Chairman, Peter Thomas said: “These exceptional early results from our maiden drilling programme at the Gnows Nest and Monte Cristo prospects is just reward for loyal shareholders and the hard work of EMU’s management team and board following the transformational acquisition of our high quality precious and base metal portfolio in WA”.
“These results provide early and strong encouragement for the potential of a materially large gold deposit emerging at Gnows Nest and could be the catalyst for the Company to transition from explorer to producer near term.”
Emu’s Gnows Nest gold project is located in the resurgent Murchison mineral field of Western Australia, 32 kilometres to the south-east of the historical Yalgoo mining centre. The Murchison is currently attracting a horde of new explorers to the region following the success of the likes of Surefire and White Cliff Minerals with their impressive new gold discoveries in the area.
The company acquired the Gnows Nest gold project late last year and has quietly continued to build on its tenement position across the historic terrane. Emu’s tenure now stretches from the Brilliant gold prospect in the south through to the northern strike extensions of the Monte Cristo discovery, covering more than 6km of gold-rich strike.
Emu’s maiden drilling campaign over the Gnows Nest prospects has now been upgraded from its initial 6,500m to a more serious 9,000m of reverse circulation drilling due to its ongoing exploration success.
It is worth noting that exploration by the previous owners of the project has already outlined a shallow JORC-resource of 113,400 tonnes at 3.78 g/t gold over the Gnows Nest mine, with the current drilling program not only showing the potential for an open pit operation but also beginning to define a deeper underground mining opportunity.
Emu’s success at Gnow’s Nest is likely to catch the eye of other miners in the region, with a clutch of nearby mills looking for high-grade feed, including Silver Lake’s Deflector mill, just 50km to the west of Gnows Nest.
Silver Lake is currently trucking ore from its high-grade Rothsay mine, 80km to the south of Emu’s project area, which also potentially makes Gnow’s Nest an attractive ore source.
With the results from a third of the Gnows Nest drilling program now in the bag and already returning a wealth of high-grade intercepts, Emu looks to be eyeing a larger resource opportunity over the project and is likely to quickly work its way up the pecking order in the region as it continues to deliver a bounty of gold results from WA’s rich Murchison province.
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By Matt Birney
