Venus spots new geophysical anomalies near Youanmi

Venus Metals and JV partner Rox Resources, have just finished flying an Xcite airborne electromagnetic survey, or “HEM” at their Penny West Deep South Project near the revered Youanmi mining district in WA that has thrown up some compelling geophysical zones of interest along the highly prospective Youanmi shear zone.

These zones have a higher electrical conductivity than the surrounding rocks, potentially indicating that sulphide minerals may be present at depth – a proposition that is likely to quicken a few pulses, particularly for those that watched Spectrum Metals get taken out by gold goliath, Ramelius Resources just down the road at Youanmi for over $200m. 

According to Venus, these geophysical anomalies extend along a strike length of some 200 to 400 metres, which is a similar length to the old Penny West gold mine on Spectrum’s ground nearby.

Venus Managing Director Matthew Hogan, said: “we are very pleased with the preliminary results of this latest HEM survey and the prospect of some potentially deep drill targets for Penny West‐ style gold mineralisation”.

Sulphides are known to be strongly associated with gold mineralisation at Spectrum’s Penny West mine and the nearby Penny North deposit, both of which are located along the lucrative Youanmi shear zone.

The final data set and interpretation is still outstanding, however, the company said it is expected to be tabled in the coming weeks. The HEM survey covered around 12 kilometres of prospective strike south of the Penny West mine.

Meanwhile, Venus has recently completed about 4,000 metres of air core drilling just 4 kilometres south of the historic Penny West mine and assays are expected sometime soon.

Venus and Rox have an equal stake in the Venus JV near Youanmi, which is one of three regional exploration JV’s formed by the ASX-listed partners.

The Venus JV is being managed by Venus under the terms of the JV.

The dynamic duo has also formed an equal joint venture, managed by Rox, over the historic Youanmi gold mine that was shut down in 1997 when the gold price was hovering between AUD$400 and AUD$450 an ounce.

Youanmi today hosts a mineral resource of 12.4 million tonnes grading 2.97 grams per tonne gold for an attractive 1.19 million ounces of gold. The project also contains a mothballed 600,000 tonne per annum gold processing plant – providing an incredibly important free kick when it comes to finding the CAPEX necessary to get into production.

Venus’ ground has been parked since about 1997 before savvy Geologists breathed life back into this long-forgotten gem that is now able to enjoy the fruits of a gold price resurgence courtesy of global uncertainty surrounding an obscure flu bug. 

Is your ASX listed company doing something interesting ? Contact : matt.birney@businessnews.com.au