ASX-listed precious and base metals explorer, Godolphin Resources has returned further encouraging assay results from resource definition drilling at its Lewis Ponds polymetallic project 15km east of Orange in NSW’s revered Lachlan Fold Belt region. The latest stand-out drill hit from the Orange-based company’s second diamond hole at Lewis Ponds was 43.2 metres grading an average 1.82 grams per tonne gold, 14 g/t silver and 0.4 per cent zinc and lead combined for a gold equivalent grade of 2.36 g/t from 446m.
The broad intersection contained a trio of higher-grade cores including 6m at 3.56 g/t gold, 11 g/t silver and 0.7 per cent zinc and lead combined for a 4.23 g/t gold equivalent from 443m and 8m at 3.11 g/t gold, 32 g/t silver and 0.8 per cent zinc and lead combined for a 4.27 g/t gold equivalent from 465m.
Another solid core came in at 5m going 2.85 g/t gold, 24 g/t silver and 0.7 per cent zinc and lead combined for a 3.72 g/t gold equivalent from 479m.
The intersections follow another recent impressive drill intercept from the first diamond hole of 18.6m at an average grade of 1.38 g/t gold, 55 g/t silver, 5.4 per cent zinc and 1.8 per cent lead for a gold equivalent grade of 6.72 g/t from 72m.
Interestingly, Godolphin says the latest drill results suggest the Lewis Ponds mineralisation seem to point to a more McPhillamys-style gold system rather than stratabound base metal sulphides.
Gold miner Regis Resources owns the McPhillamys project, which is located about 20km south of Lewis Ponds.
It hosts one of Australia’s largest undeveloped open-pittable gold resources and in 2019, Regis released an ore reserve for the project’s deposit of 60.8 million tonnes of ore going 1.04 g/t for 2.02 million ounces of contained gold.
Godolphin recently tabled an inferred mineral resource estimate for Lewis Ponds of 6.2 million tonnes of ore at an average grade of 2.0 g/t gold, 80 g/t silver, 2.7 per cent zinc, 1.6 per cent lead and 0.2 per cent copper.
The cocktail of contained metals for the remodelled Lewis Ponds resource now stands at 398,000 ounces of gold, 15.9 million ounces of silver, 17,000 tonnes of zinc, 99,000 tonnes of lead and 11,000 tonnes of copper.
Godolphin’s recently completed 3,300m diamond drilling program was aimed at teasing out potential increases in the northern Lewis Ponds mineral resource area at both the Tom’s Lode and Spicer’s Lode.
It was also designed to provide drill core composites for bench-scale metallurgical test work.
In addition, the drilling tested the potential footwall and hanging wall lodes as identified by gold in soil anomalies, surface mapping and recent RC drilling carried out by Godolphin.
According to the company, the second diamond hole intersected footwall lodes that are not included in the current mineral resource estimate for Lewis Ponds and represent “significant potential upside” to expand the resource.
Historical mining and exploration at Lewis Ponds focused predominantly on stratabound volcanogenic-hosted massive sulphide, or “VMS” base metal models.
A detailed re-examination of the historic data by Godolphin, however, has identified an association between the precious metals and the base metal lodes, while financial modelling shows the precious metals as being the major contributors to the contained metal values in the Lewis Ponds resource.
Subsequent RC and diamond drilling appears to indicate significant gold enrichment in the northern, previously poorly drilled footwall portion of the Lewis Ponds system, according to the company.
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By Matt Birney
