A two-dimensional induced-polarisation (IP) survey at Strickland Metals’ Great Western project has thrown up a bonzer drill target for the company, with a high-chargeability anomaly centred over coincident gravity, magnetic and geochemical anomalies.
Management believes its survey confirms Great Western as a compelling drill target that potentially represents a large-scale high-grade orogenic gold mineralised system at the site that sits 85km north-east of Wiluna in Western Australia.
Strickland says its IP survey results highlight a 500m-wide high-chargeability feature in the centre of “Line 1” that coincides with previously-interpreted coincident peak local magnetic anomalism, the centre of a gravity low and the core of geochemical anomalism, as defined by surface lag and gossan sampling.
The company says the structural setting at the site, that sits 5km west of its Horse Well resource in its Yandal gold project area, is considered favourable for large, high-grade orogenic gold deposits. It says the target is masked by transported cover and no drilling is known to have taken place near the magnetic feature.
Strickland Metals chief executive officer Andrew Bray said: “Great Western is defined by a 2.4km long surface geochemistry anomaly, which is coincident with magnetic and gravity anomalism. The addition of this chargeable feature makes Great Western a very compelling exploration drill target potentially representing a large scale mineral system.”
Management previously interpreted a north-west-trending gravity low centred over an east/north-east-trending airborne magnetic high as a possible zone of structural weakness and a potential mineralisation pathway. It inferred that the magnetic high might be mapping out the influence of late-stage mineralising hydrothermal fluids.
Strickland says the only other contributing geological information to date had been surface lag sampling undertaken by previous management, where analytical results outlined coherent geochemical anomalism in gold, silver, sulphur, arsenic, tellurium, molybdenum, antimony and copper.
The lag anomalism was recently confirmed by the company’s follow-up field mapping. Assays showed peak anomalism of 641 parts per million copper and 420ppm molybdenum, directly on top of the coincident magnetic high and lag geochemical anomalies, which it believed to be regionally significant for the type of mineralisation it is seeking.
The geochemical anomalism extends about 1.5km, trends north/north-west and appears to reflect the strike of the 1.5km-long gravity anomaly, but is slightly offset from it by up to 250m to the south-west.
If there is any real geological relationship between the two, any offset might simply be attributable to natural geochemical drift from soil movement, hydrological or other factors. It would best be clarified by additional infill or extensional geochemistry, which would be assisted by interpretation of the recently-completed IP.
The planned survey originally envisaged only a single IP line, but was extended with an extra line 275m to the south-east.
Management believes Great Western may be structurally related to a flexure in a regional granite body, which is often a favourable setting for a large, high-grade orogenic gold deposit.
The company plans to kick off drilling at Great Western next month, as soon as heritage clearance is in place. It also plans to run an IP survey at Rabbit Well this month and it will be followed by another IP survey at its Iroquois prospects.
Strickland has a lot on its plate, but also appears to have the wherewithal to handle it and is not about to let the grass grow under its feet when so many targets are showing up and are begging to be drilled.
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By Doug Bright
