Terrain Minerals has more than tripled the size of its ground holding at the Smokebush gold project in WA. The company has pegged a new exploration licence which covers approximately 26 square kilometres, linking its two existing ground holdings in the region and picking up the high-grade Paradise City prospect, where historical surface sampling returned rock chips grading over 38 grams per tonne gold.
The new acquisition delivers Terrain a commanding position in the Warriedar greenstone belt which surrounds the developing 247 million tonne Mulgine tungsten-gold deposit on three sides. The tenement covers an under-explored terrane which lies 5km to the south-east of the company’s recent Monza discovery, where its exploration has identified an auriferous structure which extends over more than 600 metres of strike.
Recent drill results from Monza have included 4m at 4.46 g/t from 51m and 7m at 2.72 g/t gold from 25m down-hole, pointing to the near surface, high-grade nature of the mineralisation through the region.
The company’s new tenure includes the artisanal workings at Paradise City, where a review of the historical exploration unearthed a wealth of high-grade rock chip results including assays of 38.9 g/t gold and a stunning 49.27 g/t gold. Terrain has conducted a program of check sampling across the prospect, with rock chips averaging more than 5 g/t gold and outlining mineralisation along more than 150m of strike.
Limited historical drilling below the Paradise workings has also delivered the goods, returning 3m at 2.17 g/t gold from 10m, 5m at 1.35 g/t gold from 13m and 2m at 3.61 g/t gold from only 15m down hole. With only 20 holes drilled across the prospect, and more than 70 per cent of those holes returning grades of more than 0.5 g/t gold, a modern and systematic drill program over the prospect might add significantly to the developing story at Smokebush.
Terrain’s Smokebush gold project is located in the resurgent Murchison Goldfields of Western Australia. The project is located 65km west of the historical gold mining centre at Paynes Find and is around 350km north-east of Perth. The neglected field has seen minimal exploration over the past two decades, however a recent surge in gold production from an assemblage of old mining centres across the terrane is driving a renewed interest in the goldfield.
Miners in the region surrounding Smokebush include Silver Lake at Deflector and Adaman Resources 3Mta plant at Kirkalocka, all pushing out gold and within easy trucking distance of the Monza and Paradise City prospects.
The profitability of these gold mining operations is attracting a horde of explorers to the once overlooked terrane, with the likes of White Cliff Minerals recently kicking off drilling along the extensions to the Reedy’s gold mine, and Emu consolidating its position at Gnows Nest.
Surefire Resources is also raising more than a few eye-brows with its results from the Yidby Road prospect, just 30km east of Smokebush, after it tabled a laundry list of high-grade intercepts including a stunning 40m at 3.01 g/t from 24m down-hole.
Terrain continues to build its position at Smokebush and with two gold-bearing prospects now in the bag and begging for the drill bit, the company is busy designing its next drilling campaign as it looks towards what it hopes will be a golden 2021.
Is your ASX listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au
By Matt Birney
