Meeka Metals’ drilling at its Turnberry resource in Western Australia’s Murchison region continues its alluring run of gold hits in combinations of thick intercepts and high grades that would make any seasoned miner salivate.
The best intercept from one of its reverse circulation (RC) drill holes was 10m at 15.71 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from 114m, including 1m going 34.70g/t gold and another 1m interval at an astonishing 113g/t gold.
The second-best intercept comprised 10m running 9.81g/t gold from 130m, including 1m at 86.50g/t gold, and ended in mineralisation.
The third-best hole intersected 13m assaying 6.76g/t gold from 42m, including 1m at 10.10g/t gold and a separate 1m carrying an impressive 70.80g/t gold.
The foregoing triad of big hits from Turnberry is accompanied by a string of nine more primary intercepts between 2m and 14m with grades ranging between 1.56g/t and 32.65g/t gold.
Commenting on the drilling, Meeka’s managing director Tim Davidson said: “It is pleasing to see thick zones of consistent, high-grade gold at Turnberry following the bonanza gold grades, exceeding two ounces per tonne, that we reported at St Anne’s last week. Results continue to highlight the strong production these open pits will deliver in the coming months as we commence mining.
Davidson said a new gold zone is becoming apparent in the western wall of the design stage one Turnberry South open pit, where four drillholes intersected the new zone.
Turnberry is turning out to be no one-hit wonder. Last week, the company reported similar bonanza gold grades from its St Annes deposit, with a best RC intercept of 23m going 26.73g/t gold from 38m, including 10m running 52.79g/t gold.
As with Turnberry, the swag of riches indicated by the recent St Annes drilling results includes a further six solid primary intercepts ranging in width between 6m and 23m and carrying grades between 1.03g/t and 48.80g/t gold.
Assays from the current Turnberry drilling campaign have been received for 78 of the 145 holes drilled.
Results from two sections 20m apart confirm the presence of a thick near-vertical zone of gold mineralisation extending downwards from the upper third of the western wall of the open pit shell design.
The confirmation comes from four holes that extended westwards beyond the design open pit shell.
The new zone thickens downwards to at least 180 vertical metres below the maximum depth of drilling, about 75m below the floor level of the open pit design into fresh rock and is open beyond that depth.
In the northernmost of those two sections, the new zone is at least 25m thick and potentially represents a massive block of potential ore that could be accessed from a lay-back of the west wall and deepening of the pit and/or by a short 40m decline access off the design pit floor.
All these possibilities are subject to lateral and depth persistence, grades and economics - adding up to a lot more drilling. Nevertheless, it is an impressive block.
Other mineralisation at Turnberry extends vertically downwards from the design pit floor for as much as 115m and, while thinner at between 4 and 12m thick in section, carries good grades ranging from 10g/t to 34g/t.
It also includes the 113g/t gold intercept in the best hole reported today, only 4m metres above the design pit floor.
Meeka is also progressing a feasibility study for the Turnberry project slated for completion at the end of the second quarter and grade control drilling inside the design pit is planned for the second quarter.
Other ongoing work will aim to identify possible underground extensions at the open pit mine, including those indicated by the impressive gold sniffs Meeka announced today.
The current global resource at Meeka’s Murchison project near Meekatharra stands at 1.2 million ounces at an average grade of 3g/t gold.
Ultimately, open pit mining is slated to begin in the March quarter followed by process plant commissioning in the June quarter. The red-letter day of first gold production is expected to arrive some time around June.
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By Doug Bright
