It’s raining gold! Meeka Metals has produced a veritable shower of significant gold hits from drilling ahead of mining at its St Anne’s North zone, in Western Australia’s Murchison region, with a best intercept of 33 metres going 3.07 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from 42m.
The top-shelf intercept includes 8m assaying 4.51g/t gold, another 6m running 4.58g/t gold and 1m at 28.5g/t gold.
Meeka says assays have been returned for 109 of the 145 holes drilled at its Turnberry and St Anne’s resource areas at the company’s Murchison gold project near Meekatharra.
More top assays from an eye-watering string of 34 rolled-gold hits in the latest batch of results begin with 12m assaying 5.76g/t gold from 51m, including 3m at 16.35g/t gold. A second hole intercepted 7m running 9.71g/t gold from 78m, including 1m at 34.1g/t gold, and a third hole rang up an 11m run at 4.13g/t gold from 91m, including 1m at 33.3g/t gold.
Meeka Metals’ managing director Tim Davidson said: “Continued delivery of assays demonstrating the thick zones of high-grade gold confirms the base-case production plan and points to potential upside in this plan. Updating of the mineral resource model is advanced and well ahead of the open pit mining contractor mobilising in February 2025. Results from the remaining 2024 drilling and the ongoing 2025 drilling are expected in the March 2025 quarter.”
The remaining 30 latest reported results comprise primary intercepts between 1m and 27m averaging grades in the range of 1.04g/t to 22.1g/t gold, with nine holes averaging better than 5g/t up to the peak value of 22.1g/t gold.
Those 30 intercepts feature nine holes with 1m intervals grading better than 10g/t gold and up to 35.2g/t gold.
The greater St Anne’s target area comprises two stage one initial open pit designs designated St Anne’s North and St Anne’s South.
The current round of pre-mining drilling, for which assays are still incoming, comprises 41 holes so far put into the stage one St Anne’s North open pit design.
A further 28 pre-mining holes have been drilled on the east side of the initial design and within the stage two open pit design crest, with assays awaited.
Forty-five holes have been drilled into the St Anne’s South stage one open pit and the assays are pending.
The latest downpour of gold hits from St Anne’s is similar to those reported last week from Turnberry, where the best result was 10m assaying 15.71g/t gold from 114m, including 1m going 34.70g/t gold and 1m at 113g/t gold.
Meeka says it will continue reverse circulation drilling at its two key Turnberry and St Anne’s zones into the March quarter when the company expects to launch its first mining.
Concurrently with the ongoing drilling, Meeka is constructing 20 kilometres of haul road between the processing plant and the open pit mining centre and is continuing to upgrade and refurbish its process plant.
The company aims to commission an accommodation village and administration infrastructure before month’s end and develop new access and services to the high-grade Andy Well underground mine.
Meeka’s two key objectives for February are to commission the new administration and support facilities at the Turnberry mining centre and to mobilise the open pit mining fleet, with the first pre-strip and pit access mining scheduled for March to be followed by the first ore mining in April.
The company has been on a roll for a while with lots of activity and many areas of significant progress, which are now all coming to a head with a few promising major milestones in clear view ahead.
Taking into account the stunning pre-mining resource-definition drilling results and the establishment of the first mining benches with close-spaced grade control drilling to shape the ore zones bench-by bench - there seems to be a good chance of seeing Meeka virtually awash in the yellow metal.
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By Doug Bright
