Meeka Metals continues to expand its shallow high-grade oxide gold zones immediately south of its stage one Turnberry Central open pit at its Murchison gold project, 50 kilometres north of Meekatharra.
The company’s best intercept of 30 metres assaying 1.09 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from 29m, including 9m at 2.45g/t gold, follows a 10m run at 5.2g/t gold from 37m, including 2m going 23.23g/t gold, reported late last month.
The latest best run of 30m at 1.09g/t gold reveals the top of a gold-bearing zone on that section is only 8m below the inferred base of 11m of transported cover. The zone may continue upwards to the base of cover.
The last few metres of up-dip continuity will be resolved in later infill or grade control drilling.
The recent extensional drilling program extends Meeka’s definition of persistent high-grade gold occurrences in the oxide zone and up-dip continuity in an area 150m to 200m south of the Turnberry Central open pit, where mining is in progress.
Results to date point to strong potential for resource expansion and a southward extension of the stage one oxide open pit design beyond the two-year operational period outlined in the company’s definitive feasibility study.
The headline 30m mineralised intercept has an impressive true-width of 22m, and is crying out for additional confirmatory/extensional holes. These holes could include an initial scissor hole to crosscut the centre of the intercept at about 35m vertically below surface.
That proposed hole could usefully be accompanied by a second deeper hole to probe the down-dip continuity below about 75m and 85m vertically, which could be drilled from either azimuth on section.
The top of fresh rock around this point is about 90m vertically below surface.
The best grade intercept from Meeka’s latest sample results came in a 13m run going 1.4g/t gold from 20m, including 1m at 11.62g/t gold.
The next longest intercept was 22m assaying 1.17g/t gold from 41m, including 8m running 2.04g/t gold.
This intercept defines a gold-mineralised zone with a true thickness of about 15m, centred 28m vertically below the base of transported cover and about 40m vertically below natural surface level.
Meeka Metal’s managing director Tim Davidson said: “Given the widths and grades of the shallow oxide gold at Turnberry Central, we are now planning further drilling between the Central and Southern pits. These open pits will get larger, but now we are confirming how large. Open pit mining is continuing as planned and ore is being stockpiled in advance of process plant commissioning in June 2025.”
Drilling at Turnberry Central continues to intersect broad zones of shallow high-grade oxide gold which look likely to significantly expand and extend Meeka’s Stage 1 open pit and add shallow high-grade oxide ounces to the production plan.
The latest results have prompted management to immediately re-evaluate the project’s stage one open pit design to incorporate the new data and to consider possible southward pit expansion.
In the area just west of its stage one Turnberry South open pit design, Meeka continues to drill a new potential resource zone where its February drilling intercepted 21m assaying 5.13g/t gold from 51m.
Most of Meeka’s exploration of the greater project area has been focused on the Fairway Shear Zone that appears to enclose or influence all of its mineralised zones.
The company’s Turnberry North project, Turnberry Central and its new southern extensional zone, Turnberry South and the nearby St Anne’s North and South stage one open pits run generally along about 5 kilometres of the strike of the Fairway Shear, and results indicate the trend has more to give.
Meeka appears to be well-positioned to resolve this question progressively, with the imminent production from successive stage one shallow oxide designs able to sustain considered and well-targeted extensional reconnaissance drilling along the trend.
At the same time, useful geological information will come from the open pits as they are mined, which may offer clues leading to an improved understanding of the local mineralisation models.
Meeka is continuing its resource growth drilling at its Turnberry open pit and Andy Well underground targets, while the final touches are being put on site infrastructure.
Open pit mining has begun at Turnberry and St Anne’s, and underground mining has started at Andy Well.
The company has also nearly finished refurbishing its processing plant which is due to be commissioned by mid-fourth quarter this year, ahead of a first gold pour slated for Christmas.
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By Doug Bright
