Latitude fires up drill rig for Murchison gold hunt

ASX-listed junior explorer, Latitude Consolidated has launched a second exploration campaign at its Murchison gold project in Western Australia.  Drilling will initially target the high-grade Turnberry gold mineralisation, following up on previously reported thick high-grade intersections before heading on to target the St Annes prospect. Previously reported thick high-grade intersections at Turnberry included 9 metres at a an impressive 10.4 grams per tonne gold from 162m, as well as an extensive 41m at 4.8 g/t gold from 148m in TBRC062 and a more-than-respectable 18m at 4.7 g/t gold from 192m.  

Latitude’s flagship project covers a 343 square kilometre land holding in the prolific Murchison Gold Fields of WA which hosts a large high grade 1.1 million ounce gold mineral resource at Turnberry.   

The 8,600m program of reverse circulation and diamond drilling will begin at Turnberry with assay results expected to start rolling back from the labs from mid-November. Drilling at the St Annes Prospect, 3 kilometres to the south, is next on the cards with Latitude planning to follow up on earlier high-grade results including 5m at a healthy 6.8 g/t gold from 103m and 20m at 2.4 g/t gold from 57m.

In order, Turnberry South is the first cab off the rank for to feel the drill bit with planned reverse circulation drilling infilling and testing the thick high-grade south plunging shoot. Drilling at Turnberry Central will follow where, according to the company, the broad high-grade mineralisation remains open at depth.

Latitude will then get the diamond drill rods spinning in the December quarter with diamond tails planned at several deeper targets within the Turnberry Central zone. 

Aircore drilling at St Anne’s is also scheduled to commence in the December quarter when the drilling at Turnberry concludes, to following up several high-grade drill results where anomalous gold was observed over 500m of strike.

Latitude Consolidated Chief Executive Officer, Tim Davidson, said: “We are excited to be getting our second exploration field program underway at the Murchison Gold Project. Our Phase 1 exploration program, which we completed earlier this year, was designed as an advanced greenfield program testing a number of areas on our tenure where previous exploration has shown there to be high-grade mineralisation. Our drilling confirmed this and provided valuable information as we advance each of those prospects.”

He added, “Our upcoming Phase 2 exploration program is a very targeted brownfield drilling program focussing on the near mine high-grade mineralisation which is important for both growth and confidence in the resources as the company advances the project to development ready. We are exceedingly confident in the quality of our Murchison Gold Project, and I look forward to providing further updates over the coming weeks as the exploration program progresses.”

Turnberry is located within a greenstone belt on the north-east margin of the famed Yilgarn Craton. The mineral resource sits within a granted mining lease extending over an impressive strike length of 1.5km and Latitude says it remains open to the north, south and at depth.

Importantly, the resource averages 1,850 ounces per vertical metre from the surface to a depth of 200m, at which point the number of drill holes drops off significantly - the implications being that further drilling could open up the potential for resource growth.

Mineralisation at Turnberry occurs within multiple mineralised quartz vein envelopes which vary in width from 2m to 25m. Interestingly, mineralisation has developed over several stratigraphic units including felsic volcanics and porphyries and is associated with strong pervasive sericite-pyrite alteration. Vein and shear mineralisation is also present at contacts with mafic rocks and these zones tend to host narrow, high grades pockets with occasional visible gold seen in drill chips.

Intriguingly, the best zones of gold mineralisation occur in the central portion of the resource within a highly magnetic, low-chromium fractionated dolerite unit.

According to the company, the St Anne’s mineralisation also consists of quartz veining with pyrite alteration and occurs on a geological contact between mafic dolerite and sedimentary shales.  Latitude points out the contact where the high-grade mineralisation at St Anne’s was intersected corresponds with an aeromagnetic and sub-audio magnetic anomaly. Importantly, the prospective stratigraphy and interpreted structure strike 800m to the north of previous intersections, providing an important target for the company’s phase 2 exploration program.

The Turnberry deposit sat on the backburner while former owner Doray Minerals churned out about 330,000 ounces of gold at the nearby high-grade Andy Well underground mine between 2013 and 2017.  Andy Well produced at a cracking average grade of 8 grams per tonne. Latitude will likely be hoping for a rinse and repeat performance from Turnberry.

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