Fosterville South adds second drill rig at Beechworth Gold Project

Highlights

• Two drill rigs now turning at the Beechworth Project.
• Diamond drilling also continues at Reedy Creek, Providence Project and at Enochs Point, Walhalla Gold Belt Project.
• In total, four drill rigs are now turning with assays pending from multiple ongoing drill campaigns.

Fosterville South’s initial diamond drill hole, HBDH001, on the Homeward Bound prospect interested 8.6 m at 5.22 g/t gold (Au), including 3.6 m at 10.72 g/t Au (see news release 15 October 2021). Initial assay results at Reedy Creek include 11 m at 31.34 g/t Au including 4 m at 80.05 g/t Au (hole RWRI3) and 0.7 m at 238.1 g/t Au (hole RWD01) (see news releases dated 9 August 2021 and 14 October 2021).

To date, 40 drill holes have been completed within the Beechworth Gold Project for a total of 3598 m, most of which (22) have been scout drilling at various targets for which assays remain pending. The planned drill programme for the two drill rigs amounts to a two phase 16 hole programme for 3110 m at the Homeward Bound prospect plus the ongoing scout drilling of a further 39 holes for 3510 m, for a total of 6620 m.

Reverse circulation drilling at Homeward Bound will initially target shallower zones to 150 m depth of potential gold mineralisation along strike, including the hanging wall and footwall mineralisation associated with the old gold workings. The programme aims toward deeper drilling with both diamond and reverse circulation techniques based upon the mineralisation vectors achieved in the shallower drilling.

A reinterpretation of the previous drilling and the drilling carried out by Fosterville South indicates that wider zones of mineralisation exist that were not previously mined. The previous diamond drilling from 1992 was highly selective in its assaying and has overlooked this broader scale mineralisation as evidenced by the initial results in HBDH01 which was terminated in old workings immediately adjacent to 8.6 m at 5.22 g/t Au from 192.6 m downhole depth. The second diamond drill hole at Homeward Bound intersected significant widths of quartz and sulphide mineralisation, with multiple assays pending.

Reconnaissance percussion drilling continues at various prospects found throughout the Beechworth Project targeting old workings and geochemical anomalous zones. This drilling campaign has also intersected various zones of quartz and sulfide mineralisation, with further multiple assays pending.

The Homeward Bound prospect is in the Hillsborough goldfield, which forms part of the Beechworth Gold Project, occurring in the Tabberabbera Zone on the eastern margin with the Omeo Zones of the Lachlan Fold Belt in Victoria. Several key gold prospects and associated fault structures have been identified within the Beechworth Gold Project based upon extensive geochemical sampling, geological and LIDAR mapping and limited previous drilling. These gold mineralised zones are largely parallel striking NNW and include (from west to east) the Perseverance, Bon Accord and Homeward Bound faults. These include various historical producing mines located within the Hurdle Flat goldfield (21 715 oz of production at 15.32 g/t Au) and Hillsborough goldfield (47 492 oz of production at 17.48 g/t Au). Mineralisation is typical of mesozonal orogenic gold deposits, although the Hillsborough area occurs within a contact metamorphic aureole of a nearby granitic intrusion. Intrusion related gold mineralisation has been found as rich float rock specimen samples nearby and will form part of a new drilling programme in the coming year when permits are received.

Drilling activities on three gold projects

Fosterville South continues to actively drill on three gold projects: Reedy Creek (Providence Project), Enoch’s Point (Walhalla Gold Belt Project) and Homeward Bound (Beechworth Gold Project). The Providence Project and the Walhalla Gold Belt both occur within the epizonal district of the Melbourne Zone.At Reedy Creek (Providence Project), Fosterville South is carrying out diamond drilling at the Prince of Wales Reef. These prospects contain significant old gold workings within extensive anomalous Au-Sb-As geochemical soil trends. After the initial drilling is completed at Prince of Wales Reef, Fosterville South will continue to focus on the discovery hole RWR13 (11 m at 31.34 g/t Au including 4 m at 80.05 g/t Au from 68 m) and the recently announced high-grade intercept from diamond drill hole RWD01 (0.7 m at 238.1 g/t Au from 68.70 m and 0.8 m at 22.5 g/t Au from 40.8 m). Detailed geological mapping and sampling is continuing in support of the drilling programme.

Fosterville South is currently diamond drilling at the Big River Au-Sb prospect in the Enoch’s Point area. The Big River Au-Sb Prospect is hosted by Siluro-Devonian folded and faulted sediments and occurs in close proximity to the Jerusalem Inlet Fault, which is part of the Enoch’s Point Thrust Fault Zone. This fault zone extends for approximately 85 km through much of the Fosterville South (45 km) tenure and beyond. The Big River prospect was worked in the 1960s for high grade stibnite concentrate from a single audit of 58 m in length working epizonal quartz veins. A soil geochemical program was conducted at the Big River Antimony Mine, which outlined an area of As-Sb pXRF soil anomalism covering strike length of 3.2 km and up to 600 m wide. Follow up gold assaying of the soil samples confirmed that the Big River prospect is Au-As-Sb anomalous especially within an 850 m by 450 m central anomaly, including the old workings, epizonal quartz veins and zones of sulfide mineralised felspar porphyry dykes. Initially two diamond drill holes across the anomalous zone are being conducted.

Read the article online at: https://www.globalminingreview.com/exploration-development/10112021/fosterville-south-adds-second-drill-rig-at-beechworth-gold-project/