copper-gold project in Papua New Guinea after lodging an application for a 552-square-kilometre tenement adjacent to a previous 501sq-km application.
Management says high-grade copper-gold and lead-zinc rock-chip samples have been found in the tenements by previous explorers, with target areas for follow-up exploration already identified. It adds that gold is an important indicator for South-West Pacific porphyry-style mineralisation and the Green River region has many artisanal gold workings.
Historic sampling returned peak results up to 6.12 grams per tonne gold, 8.7 per cent copper, 12.2 per cent zinc and 68.3g/t silver.
Gold Mountain applied for the original Green River tenement back in May and is now hoping to add to its potential holding with the latest lodgement. The first application covered an area of 493.5sq km, but was revised to the bigger 501sq km to avoid a conflict with a road easement.
Management says the geology at both projects is summarised as early Triassic and Palaeozoic metamorphics and mid-Triassic-age metadiorites, which were intruded by Miocene to Pliocene-age Maramuni suite dioritic rocks. Previous exploration has been limited, with porphyry-style mineralisation explored from the 1970s to 2000s, in addition to alluvial gold in the past 40 years.
Gold Mountain says it has acquired and reinterpreted datasets, including the reprocessing and reinterpretation of geophysical data and geochemical analysis of 522 stream sediment samples and 25 rock samples. It allowed it to recognise the potential for porphyry, epithermal and orogenic gold mineralisation in both tenement application areas.
Importantly, the main road from Vanimo to Green River, which will be the access road for the Frieda River copper-gold project, passes along the eastern margin of the tenement area. The access road from Amanab, in the centre of the new tenement application, connects into the Frieda River copper-gold project access road.
Gold Mountain previously turned heads with its plans to turbocharge its exploration efforts at its burgeoning Brazilian lithium hotspot. Management says its exploration to date has identified 250 pegmatites, with multiple soil and rock-chip sample results pending as it eyes a maiden drilling program by year’s end.
However, the company also appears keen to diversify its portfolio with the potential acquisition of its two Green River tenement in Papua New Guinea. And Green River for Gold Mountain sounds like the perfect pairing of hues for an Australian exploration company.
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By Michael Philipps
