Dacian Gold discovers new high-grade gold mineralisation at Mt Morgans gold operation

The new drilling results have outlined significant high-grade BIF mineralisation in a previously unknown BIF unit below the historic Morgans North open pit, located north of the Westralia Mine. The newly discovered mineralisation is currently defined over an area measuring approximately 500 m x 250 m, with the last drill section returning some of the most continuously thick, high-grade mineralisation seen at Westralia. Significantly, this new drilling, when combined with recent previously reported high grade intersections north of the Allanson Ore Reserve, means high grade mineralisation has now been defined for 750 m north of the Westralia Ore Reserve, and it continues to remain open to the north. The results continue to confirm the potential for significant Mineral Resource growth at Westralia.

Dacian Gold Executive Chairman Rohan Williams said: “This is a significant discovery which supports our strategy of bringing forward asset value through accelerating exploration activity at Mt Morgans. “The strong potential of this discovery is demonstrated by the excellent grades, thickness and continuity of the mineralisation, together with its relatively shallow location just north of the existing Westralia Mine Area and infrastructure, and below an historic open pit. “Importantly, the best results have been returned on the northernmost section with the mineralisation remaining completely open to the north along the known north-trending high-grade zones seen throughout the mine.

“The combination of these results and their location immediately below and along strike from an historic open pit shows there is excellent potential for new, additional production opportunities. “The fact that we have discovered a significant zone of high-grade mineralisation in a previously untested area over 750 m north of the Allanson Ore Reserve strengthens our confidence in the long-term growth potential at Mt Morgans and highlights the outstanding discovery potential across the Mt Morgans gold field.”

Overview

Dacian Gold’s detailed geological studies from its underground mining at Westralia and careful documentation of diamond drill cores has confirmed that one of the principal trends of high-grade mineralisation at the large Westralia deposit (>2 million oz) is a shallow-plunging trend extending to the north. This geological breakthrough has led to the identification of a new, large target of highly prospective banded iron formation (BIF) north of Westralia (see ASX release 25 June 2018). Recent drill testing for extensions of the Westralia Mineral Resource north of the Ore Reserves at Beresford North and Allanson has confirmed that high-grade BIF-hosted mineralisation continues northward. Significant results including 16.1m @ 7.7g/t Au and 2.8m @ 6.4g/t Au north of Beresford North; and 3.0m @ 33.0g/t Au and 1.3m @ 9.4g/t Au north of the Allanson Ore Reserve confirmed the high grade trends (see ASX release 21 February 2019). More recent diamond drilling has targeted the shallow-plunging, northern trend of BIF-hosted mineralisation further north of Allanson and beneath the historic Morgans North open pit. This drilling has discovered a new and highly mineralised BIF unit lying below and to the north of Morgans North open pit. Combining the results of drilling reported in this announcement together with previously reported drilling confirms that high grade mineralisation has now been intersected over 750 m north of the Allanson (and Westralia) Ore Reserve. These new drilling results confirm the company’s view that Westralia is a very significant ore system, now measuring over 2.8 km in length and which remains open further to the north. Dacian Gold is confident that, with ongoing drilling, the Westralia ore system will continue to grow larger adding additional Mineral Resources and potentially Ore Reserves.

A total of 25 diamond drill holes for approximately 9200 m were recently completed on a broadly 80 x 80 m drilling grid testing north of the Allanson Ore Reserve and below the Morgans North open pit. The drilling was designed to test whether the shallow north-plunging, high-grade trends seen throughout the Westralia deposit continue northward of the Allanson Ore Reserve. The drilling has discovered a previously unrecognised BIF unit that is highly mineralised. The mineralisation is developed over approximately a 500 m x 250 m shallow north-plunging zone which remains open to the north. Assay results from recent drilling include several outstanding intersections, including:

• 1.7 m @ 127.0g/t Au from 297.3 m in 19MMDD0501.
• 31.0 m @ 6.3g/t Au from 208.0 m in 19MMDD0523.
• 14.3 m @ 12.7g/t Au from 284.8 m in 19MMDD0496.
• 3.2 m @ 12.5g/t Au from 365.1 m in 19MMDD0497.
• 1.7 m @ 7.5 g/t Au from 248.9 m in 19MMDD0491.

The discovery of this high grade mineralised BIF may provide near-term production opportunities at Westralia through the development of an additional production decline from the base of the Morgans North open pit.

Read the article online at: https://www.globalminingreview.com/exploration-development/20062019/dacian-gold-discovers-new-high-grade-gold-mineralisation-at-mt-morgans-gold-operation/