Perth based gold explorer Meeka Gold Limited has intersected laminated hydrothermal veins typical for gold mineralisation in all six diamond drillholes from a recent campaign at its Andy Well prospect within the Murchison gold project in WA. Meeka says the lode is typically between 10cm to 40cm in width and remains open at depth and along strike to the north and south as drilling continues.
Mineralisation in the first six holes drilled at Andy Well targeted the Margaret gold lode and typically occurred between 150m and 185m below surface. The company says the intersections represent the typical mineral and alteration assemblage of gold bearing mineralisation at the nearby Andy Well mine.
According to management, mineralisation intersected in the targeted Margaret lode at Andy Well was at modelled depths in all drillholes to date with target zones generally situated on a basalt and porphyry contact in the footwall.
The Andy Well underground mine produced over 300,000 ounces grading 8 grams per tonne gold for Doray Minerals between 2013 and 2017 and only stopped production due to the low gold price and a large debt burden that Doray was carrying.
Extensive infrastructure remains in place at Andy Well including underground mine development, surface haul roads, partial processing infrastructure and a tailings storage facility.
The first phase of drilling targeting the Margaret lode is complete with the diamond core currently being logged and sampled. The drill rig has now started carving away at the company’s Turnberry Central prospect that lies a stone’s throw away. The drill bit is currently aimed at extensions of mineralisation beneath a planned open pit the company recently outlined in a scoping study in December 2021.
One recent assay result from Turnberry Central returned an 8 metre intersection going 2.93 grams per tonne gold from 150m including a higher grade 4m core going 5.54 g/t. Another notable result included a 10m intersection going 2.04 g/t gold from 188m, that housed a 6m hit at 3.02 g/t.
Meeka’s flagship Murchison gold project has a combined 343 square kilometre landholding in the Murchison Goldfields that houses a total mineral resource of 1.1 million ounces of gold across the project.
Additionally, the company is actively exploring the gold potential of its Circle Valley gold project in southern WA situated within the Albany Fraser mobile belt that also hosts the enormous Tropicana gold mine. A drill rig is currently onsite ploughing through a 7,000m aircore and RC program following up some earlier aircore successes at the greenfields project.
Aircore drilling in 2021 at Circle Valley also produced some solid results including a 12m section grading 1.05 grams per tonne gold within a 23m mineralised envelope that gave up 0.64 g/t gold from 12m downhole.
Other significant results from aircore drilling in 2021 at Circle Valley include a four metre section going 1.49 g/t gold within a wider 24m parcel at 0.38 g/t gold from 12m downhole.
In late 2020, Meeka struck a landmark deal with Silver Lake Resources to acquire the Gnaweeda gold project, that includes the Turnberry prospect as well as getting its hands on the previously producing nearby Andy Well mine and infrastructure.
With an open pit in the planning stages at Turnberry and gold intersections consistently coming through from the Andy Well deposit, the Murchison gold project looks to be taking serious shape for Meeka Gold. Additionally, its greenfield Circle Valley gold project is also gaining traction as the company continues its strategy of letting the drill bit do the talking.
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By Matt Birney
