Diamond drilling has commenced at the flagship Side Well Gold Project of Great Boulder Resources Ltd (ASX:GBR) near Meekatharra in Western Australia, where the company is testing high-grade gold mineralisation at the 568,000-ounce Mulga Bill prospect.
GBR has planned two diamond holes to test north-plunging high-grade veins at Mulga Bill from the surface to about 500 metres deep.
One hole will be drilled at the northern end of the resource area targeting mineralisation around the cross-cutting Proterozoic dyke; the other further south within the Mulga Bill Central high-grade zone.
Both holes will be drilled towards the south to intersect the north-plunging veins while also staying within the 50-metre-wide corridor of mineralisation.
"Towards million ounces"
“I’m pleased to say the diamond rig is spinning at Mulga Bill, testing high-grade mineralisation to a depth of 500 metres below surface," said Great Boulder managing director Andrew Paterson.
"This is the next step in our plan to demonstrate the overall scale of this deposit as we move towards the million-ounce milestone at Side Well,”
The diamond rig is working 24 hours per day — testing gold mineralisation to a depth of 500 metres below surface — and is expected to be completed in around two weeks. The core will then be logged before being cut for sampling, with assays anticipated to be available in September.
Results from the 50 holes drilled northwest of Saltbush, testing the two-kilometre geochemical anomaly north-northwest of the high-grade Saltbush discovery, should be available approximately two weeks later.
RC drilling underway
The company is also undertaking reverse circulation (RC) drilling at Mulga Bill in the next phase of growth and resource definition.
This follows the completion of aircore drilling. Assay results from 13 aircore holes drilled at Mulga Bill North are expected to be received shortly, along with 50 more from Saltbush.
Additionally, a heritage survey completed over the Side Well South area on Friday, July 27, paves the way for GBR’s first drilling program to test exciting new geochemical targets in this area along strike from Saltbush.
Assuming the final survey report is delivered in eight weeks, drilling is expected to commence in late September.
The RC rig is currently drilling holes at the northern end of Mulga Bill, continuing to add definition to an area where drilling in May intersected 16 metres at 13.83 g/t gold from 107 metres. This program is one to two weeks ahead of schedule.
Once this drilling is complete the rig will move a short distance south to commence a program of infill and extensional drilling at Mulga Bill, looking to extend high-grade resource zones at depth and add definition to areas of Inferred resource within the conceptual pit shell. This data will inform the resource update later in the year.
The resource infill drilling will also provide samples for metallurgical testing, looking at gravity gold recovery and cyanide leach characteristics of various areas within the Mulga Bill deposit in the regolith (weathered material) and also in fresh rock. GBR will commence test work once all samples are collected, and it is expected to take around 12 weeks to complete.
A very busy time
“Having announced the six-month exploration program in mid-July we’re already ahead of schedule, with 13 aircore holes drilled at Mulga Bill North and another 50 at Saltbush,” said Paterson.
“The percussion rig has now switched back to RC drilling and it’s busy testing extensions at Mulga Bill, which will help with the resource update at the end of the year.”
“With two rigs on site and 18 kilometres of gold prospects to drill it’s a very busy time for the company. We anticipate plenty of exciting news in the weeks and months ahead.”