Superior Resources’ initial rock chipping at its historic Windmill East and Origin prospects has produced significant returns the company says could indicate it has a far larger gold system under its feet than previously thought.
In Superior’s first entry into the old Pancontinental prospects, 210 kilometres west of Townsville in central Queensland, rock chip samples were taken from each prospect producing grades of 18.63 grams per tonne gold and 6.97 g/t from Windmill East and an eye-catching 65.92 g/t and 3.19 g/t gold from Origin.
The company’s field geologists took the rock samples whilst mapping the limited outcrop in what is a largely undercover prospect. It says the results could be an early indication of a fresh, serious gold lode between its Steam Engine and Bottletree prospects.
Previous drilling by Pancontinental struck shows of gold whilst geochemical soil sampling picked up traces of the yellow metal striking a line directly to Superior’s Dinner Creek Lode, located about 1.5km to the northeast. Whilst the result from previous drilling by Pancontinental provided only scant encouragement and the recent soil sampling is limited, intriguingly Superior says the potential for a 4km gold corridor between Steam Engine’s Dinner Creek Lode and northern edge of Bottletree Copper prospect stands out from the mapping.
Superior Resources, Managing Director, Peter Hwang said: “The discovery of high-grade gold in rock chips from the poorly exposed Windmill East-Origin prospects is a truly exciting development for this emerging North Queensland gold project. Together with detailed geological mapping, we are only just beginning to appreciate that the Steam Engine gold system is a much larger system than previously thought.
“We have now traced Steam Engine-type gold lodes and mineralisation in a regular pattern stretching from the Dinner Creek Lode to the southern edge of the Bottletree Prospect, which is about six kilometres to the south. In addition to the exciting developments at Bottletree, we will also be expanding our exploration plans for Steam Engine to test its potential to be a major gold deposit.
We look forward to releasing an upgraded Mineral Resource Estimate for Steam Engine during February, as we progress an interim strategy study that compares the merits of establishing a scalable processing plant against various haulage and toll-treatment pathways.
“These are exciting times for Superior, with Steam Engine’s large-scale potential adding to the recent ground-breaking copper developments revealed at the nearby Bottletree Copper Prospect, and with the market starting to appreciate the potential of our new discoveries.”
Superior has been piling on the ounces at its Steam Engine project that now boasts a 1.73 million tonne resource grading 2.2 g/t gold for 122,000 ounces. The early signs at Windmill East and Origin suggest the two could ultimately provide an even greater addition to the swelling bounty.
The gold at Windmill East appears to be hosted in highly deformed and metamorphosed rocks similar to those at Steam Engine whilst mineralisation at the Origin prospect is seen mostly in quartz veins cutting through the same host rocks.
According to Superior, previous drilling by Pancontinental at Windmill, that revealed 2 metres at 1.72 g/t gold and 2m at 1.85 g/t, was parallel to the mineralised system and its efforts may have missed the mark.
Superior Resources has its ears pinned back in an effort to grow the resource base at Steam Engine and these latest, if early results, may help quicken the pace. Investors will be keeping a keen eye on developments at the greater Steam Engine project to see if Superior can unlock the potential of what may lie beneath.
An upgraded Mineral Resource Estimate for Steam Engine is expected next month.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au
