ASX-listed gold developer Spectrum Metals has further extended the footprint of gold mineralisation at its emerging Penny West project in WA, delivering high-grade intersections down-dip from a discovery hole earlier this month.
The new intercepts include 8 metres grading 24.2g/t gold from 149m down-hole and 4m @ 35.2g/t gold from 135m down-hole, including a cracking 9 metre section assaying 16.2g/t gold from 130m, in separate RC drill holes.
The additional drill results confirm the discovery of a new high-grade lode structure or shoot, north of the historical Penny West open pit, with grades looking amenable to a potential cut back of that area.
According to the company, an additional ten holes have been completed to the north, south and down-dip of the newly defined ore zone and assays are pending.
In addition, drilling has not closed off the gold mineralisation at Penny North and Spectrum has extended the original program of 4,500 metres to better define the dimensions and grade of its new find.
The style of mineralisation intersected is similar to the main Penny West pit, so the company appears to have hooked into something pretty special here.
The Penny West operation produced 85,000 ounces of gold from 121,000 tonnes at a blazing 21.8g/t gold during 1991 and 1992 and hence, the discovery of high grades north of the pit will have hearts pounding.
Spectrum Managing Director Paul Adams said: “The confirmation that we have discovered a new high-grade lode at our Penny West project, so early in our maiden RC drilling program, is a significant and very exciting development for the company and its shareholders.”
“This will provide Spectrum with an expanded exploration focus for 2019 and although it’s early days and there is a lot more work to do, the discovery of another high-grade lode gives us confidence that the asset has the potential to build significant additional value for shareholders”.
The current JORC compliant mineral resource estimate of 230,000 tonnes grading 4.8g/t gold for 36,000 ounces, sits below the existing open pit shell, with nearly 78% of the gold contained within the confident “indicated” resource category.
The new drilling intersections lie outside the existing mineral resources.
According to Spectrum, the gold produced from Penny West was free-milling in nature, with exceptional metallurgical recoveries of about 95%.
The Penny West gold project is located 25km south from the Youanmi mining centre in the under-explored Murchison district of Western Australia.
Spectrum Metals also recently unearthed multiple, high priority drilling targets from an auger geochemical sampling program at Penny West, with the priority targets grouping around the Columbia-Magenta prospect, about 2km north of the open pit area.
Those areas will also be drilled with exploratory drill holes during the current campaign.
