West Australian gold explorer Astral Resources (ASX: AAR) has reported further encouraging gold grades from the Theia prospect, one of four that make up the company’s Mandilla project, 70km north of Kalgoorlie.
Hole number 751 returned 344 gram-metres over its length.
The company highlights the six discrete zones thus: 7m at 3.1 grams per tonne gold (including 1m at 18.25g/t); 98m at 1.15g/t gold; 15.6m at 3.45g/t gold (including 0.3m at 142.2g/t); 17.6m at 2.39g/t gold (including 0.3m at 102.95g/t); 11.2m at 5.59g/t gold, and 28m at 1.33g/t gold.
The company says diamond drilling continues to demonstrate the potential for resource growth at Mandilla with high-grade assays from recent drilling enhancing the current mineral resource estimate interpretation, as well as demonstrating potential extensions to mineralisation at depth.
Latest hits outside mineral resource area
Last December Astral Resources announced a resource estimate of 30 million tonnes at 1.1g/t, for a contained 1.3 million ounces.
However, the majority of the Hole 751 length is outside that current mineral resource at the Theia deposit.
Moreover, reverse circulation drilling has intersected several strong mineralised zones to the southeast, the company says.
Managing director Marc Ducler said the latest hole results is exceptional by any measure.
“It’s really exciting to be able to finish the financial year with the program delivering some of the best results we’ve ever seen at Mandilla,” he added.
Resource update expected soon
Mr Ducler said the updated mineral resource estimate is well advanced and will be released to the market as soon as completed.
Meanwhile, the scoping study is expected to be delivered in the second half of this financial year.
“We now have a much clearer picture of the potential for the presence of significant mineralisation at depth,” Mr Ducler said.
Drilling will resume later in this September quarter.
Theia, along with Iris, Eos and Hestia projects make up the Mandilla project.
At Iris, the mineralised footprint extends over about 700m, combining with Theia to form a mineralised zone of more than 2.2km.
At Eos, located to the southeast, a relatively shallow, high-grade mineralised paleochannel deposit has been delineated, while at Hestia mineralisation has been delineated over 800m of strike.
Hestia lies about 500m west of Theia.
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