Astral (JO:ARLJ) Resources NL (ASX:AAR) has been rewarded with promising assay results from its final 11 drill holes at the Kamperman Deposit within the Feysville Gold Project, around 14 kilometres south of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia.
Extensive program wraps up
The reverse circulation (RC) program of 31 holes for 3,834 metres produced high-grade gold intersections that give the company confidence in the value of the resource.
Astral’s drilling focused on infill and extensional testing, with high-grade intersections made across multiple holes, especially in the southern zone of Kamperman.
“A potential high-grade gold zone was also tested with hole FRC385, returning a spectacular intercept of 6 metres at 12.8 g/t gold from 76 metres including 1 metre at 63.4 g/t gold from 77 metres,” Astral Resources managing director Marc Ducler said.
“Previous drilling in the vicinity has seen this characteristically silicified zone intersected in three holes with assay results of 3.7 metres at 12.2 g/t gold, 5 metres at 3.11 g/t gold and 10 metres at 5.04 g/t gold including 1 metre at 28.5 g/t gold inFRC350.
'Exceptional' highlights
Additional highlights from these last 11 holes include:
- 33 metres at 3.75 g/t gold from 58 metres, including a higher-grade interval of 3 metres at 14.8 g/t from 75 metres;
- 10 metres at 1.63 g/t from 131 metres and 22 metres at 5.21 g/t from 149 metres, with highlights of 2 metres at 30.9 g/t from 164 metres and 2 metres at 12.2 g/t from 168 metres; and
- 22 metres at 4.44 g/t from 105 metres, including 2 metres at 25.9 g/t from 121 metres.
Three of the holes in particular averaged 112 gram-metres, which reinforces the methodology not only of the infill drilling but the supporting geological interpretations.
Not part of MRE
These drill results were not part of the initial Kamperman mineral resource estimate (MRE) announced on November 1, which recorded 2 million tonnes at 1.3 g/t gold for 83,800 ounces of contained gold.
“Following the recent release of the maiden Kamperman MRE, it is highly encouraging to now be reporting further high-grade infill results and a successful drill test of a previously identified high-grade zone,” Ducler said.
Astral believes the latest assays may enable further growth in the MRE, enhancing Kamperman’s resource base and reinforcing Feysville’s role as a potential satellite ore source for the Mandilla Gold Project.
“These results highlight the potential for MRE upside at Kamperman. The infill drill line (FRC387, FRC388 and FRC389) testing the high-grade southern zone at Kamperman returned excellent results including 33 metres at 3.75 g/t gold, 22 metres at 4.44 g/t gold and 22 metres at 5.21 g/t gold,” Ducler said.
Visible gold at Mandilla
Having wrapped up the Kamperman program, the RC drill rig has moved to the Mandilla Gold Project, where it will continue infill drilling and explore fresh rock mineralisation potential.
Meanwhile, a diamond drill program has kicked off at Mandilla’s Theia deposit, with some initial visible gold observations. The assays from this program are expected in early 2025.
“Diamond drilling of four infill holes at Theia is progressing well. The first hole of this program has already been completed with, pleasingly, a significant number of occurrences of visible gold observed during the logging process,” said Ducler.
With visual results looking good, the company is making plans to secure a second diamond drill rig to speed things up at Theia.