- Essential Metals (ESS) has recommenced drilling at the Gards gold prospect and is also planning to test three new gold targets at its Golden Ridge project
- A planned 23 aircore holes for around 700 metres are currently underway
- Drilling will test the strike extension to a 475-metre-long zone of gold mineralisation, defined during the December drill program
- It will also target the intersection of porphyry and an interpreted northeast–southwest structure, which has potential to host a much broader zone of mineralisation
- Once drilling is completed at Gards, the company plans to test three new gold targets at the Golden Ridge project
- Targets AC75, Skandia and Maximus will be tested to examine a gold anomalism in the regolith and locate gold anomalism-associated magnetic breaks and dislocations
- The testing is planned for next month with assay results expected in June
- Shares are in the grey at 10.5 cents each
Essential Metals (ESS) has recommenced drilling at the Gards gold prospect and is planning to test three new gold targets at its Golden Ridge project.
The Gards gold project is located within the Juglah Dome Project. Both Juglah and Golden Ridge are based near Kalgoorlie in the Golfields region of WA.
The company plans to drill 23 aircore holes, for around 700 metres, on 300 by 25 metre spacing to the south-east of the Gards prospect.
In December, a reverse circulation (RC) drilling program at the Juglah project, intercepted 6.69 grams per tonne gold at Gards.
A 475-metre-long zone of gold mineralisation was also defined and now, drilling will test the strike extension.
Essential states that the aircore holes are designed to target the intersection of the Gards porphyry and an interpreted northeast-southwest structure, which it believes has the potential to host a much broader zone of mineralisation.
Essential Metals Managing Director, Tim Spencer is highly anticipating the drill results, especially, he says, if it confirms near surface gold mineralisation of a strike length exceeding one kilometre, and also intersects the interpreted broad mineralised cross-structure zones.
Once drilling is completed at Gards, the company plans to test three new gold targets at the Golden Ridge project.
The targets, named AC75, Skandia and Maximus, have been identified coincident to magnetic breaks and dislocations, and medium-to-large scale soil anomalies.
Testing is planned for May with assay results expected in June, depending on laboratory turn-around.
Air-core traverses at AC75 are planned to test gold anomalism in the regolith.
More broadly, the programme will aim to better define the bedrock gold target for follow up RC drilling.
At Skandia and Maximus, a planned 51 aircore holes will aim to locate gold anomalism associated magnetic breaks and dislocations.
Further, the work will test directly along strike of old shallow workings and/or adjacent to anomalous previous drilling that was carried out for nickel exploration.
Managing Director Tim Spenser commented on the upcoming targets.
“The three gold targets to be drilled at Golden Ridge are very compelling and are close to known prospects, so the information generated will help to better understand the geological setting and gold dispersion in the area,” he said.
Shares are in the grey at 10.5 cents each at 12:54pm AEDT.