ASX-listed gold explorer, Sihayo Gold has shifted its drilling focus to the under-explored high-grade epithermal vein Sihorbo prospect at its Hutabargot Julu gold-silver project in North Sumatra, Indonesia. The Brisbane-based company recently kicked off a 10-hole program totalling 2,200 metres at the exciting target on the western side of the project area to follow up on a clutch of historic high-grade gold hits.
Three shallow scout holes drilled to test Sihorbo eight years ago returned a couple of spectacular gold intersections.
They are 1.15m averaging an eye-popping gold grade of 204 grams per tonne gold and 55 g/t silver from 83.4 and 5.3m going 17.1 g/t gold and 19 g/t silver from 56.2m.
Sihayo says artisanal miners have exploited near-surface mineralised zones on a north-south trending vein segment over about 400m strike length at Sihorbo.
Recent selective surface rock sampling of muck piles of banded and brecciated epithermal quartz-sulphide vein material at artisanal gold mine workings along Sihorbo also returned stand-out gold values up to 175 g/t and silver grades up to 156 g/t.
According to the company, the target has the potential to host bonanza grade gold-silver mineralisation in discrete ore shoots along the known vein structure.
Sihayo says it also hopes to identify additional mineralised veins parallel or oblique to the known vein zone at Sihorbo.
The current drilling program will test the high-grade vein target to a maximum vertical depth of about 200m and along the 400m strike length of the vein system, which is open to the north and south.
The 10 holes earmarked for Sihorbo are expected to take about 3-4 months to complete.
Sihayo recently completed a wide-spaced 25-hole diamond core drilling campaign totalling 4,806m at Hutabargot Julu, testing the northern half of a large 3.5km by 3km gold in soil anomaly across the project.
It returned several notable gold-silver intercepts including 9m at 8.36 g/t gold and 9.3 g/t silver from 8m including 1.2m at an impressive 48.4 g/t gold and 23.7 g/t silver.
Other significant assays are 7m at 1.60 g/t gold and 15.7 g/t silver from 58m, 17m at 1.15 g/t gold and 4.2 g/t silver from surface and 17m at 1.21 g/t gold and 7.6 g/t silver from 180m.
The company says latest drilling results support its interpretation that the Hutabargot Julu epithermal gold-silver project may host both structurally controlled high-grade veins at varying depths and bulk-tonnage disseminated deposits.
Artisanal miners have been operating for the past seven years in the western parts of Hutabargot Julu, extracting gold from multiple narrow quartz veins occurring in discrete vein systems – always a good sign for a more serious company looking to find the precious yellow metal at depth.
The local miners have a knack for sniffing out high-grade gold and Sihayo will be looking to pick up on that scent.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au
By Matt Birney
