Legacy Minerals Ltd (ASX:LGM) has fielded initial results from its geochemistry campaign across Bauloora, a low-sulphidation epithermal-style gold-silver project in the renowned mineral district of the Lachlan Fold Belt in NSW.
The field team collected more than 1,000 rock chip samples across the known epithermal vein field as part of follow-up work to an earlier gradient array-induced polarisation (GA-IP) survey that identified numerous areas of interest.
The aim was to ‘ground truth’ historical geological mapping of quartz veins.
Gold-bearing veins
The assays include the highest gold result to date across the Bauloora Project, heralding multiple new gold-bearing veins.
Low-sulphidation epithermal-style rock chip assays returned results of up to 55.5 g/t gold, 904 g/t silver and 1,140 parts per million (ppm) antimony.
These results further highlight the potential and pervasiveness of the epithermal vein trends across the project, which remain open in all directions.
The results define a roughly 15-square-kilometre footprint of gold mineralisation in rock chips assaying greater than 0.2 g/t gold.
Systematic approach
Managing director Christopher Byrne said: “Legacy Minerals’ focus on a systematic approach to exploration across the project continues to deliver excellent results and the discovery of new high-grade gold-bearing veins is testament to this approach.
“The results further confirm the low-sulphidation epithermal style gold-silver system at Bauloora is large and well preserved with all the hallmarks of one capable of hosting a major gold deposit.
“In addition, the quartz vein textures and pathfinder element assemblages indicate we are at the top of a low-sulphidation epithermal system with the potential to increase in width and grade with depth.
“There has been no drilling at any of these newly defined veins and we are looking forward to incorporating this new information, and the data from the soil sampling, into our drill target planning that’s underway.”
Pathfinder elements
Laboratory assays conducted through ALS Orange and Brisbane were analysed for 49 elements, recognising that low-sulphidation epithermal-style gold-silver deposits typically have distinct geochemical pathfinder element signatures that provide insight to the depth of erosion and preservation level of the system.
The rock chip results delineated extensive gold and silver mineralisation with standout gold results of 55.5 g/t, 5.59 g/t and 4.61 g/t and silver results including 904 g/t, 444 g/t, and 235 g/t.
The samples were taken from recently discovered outcrop and float vein trends, from historically mapped veins that were unsampled and from zones that the GA-IP survey highlighted as being of interest.
The veins on the Bauloora Project present an excellent opportunity for the discovery of shallow gold mineralisation. A number of these veins display sinter-related quartz textures and have been found in numerous locations, providing evidence the epithermal system remains well-preserved.
What’s next?
The company has completed a large-scale geochemical survey consisting of 2,603 soil samples across the newly defined vein trends and the wider epithermal vein field at the Bauloora project – assays are pending.
The newly defined gold-bearing veins have not been drilled and Legacy is incorporating this new data set into its assessment of drill targets for an upcoming drill campaign.