Riversgold Ltd (ASX:RGL) is just beginning to delve into an extensive gold-bearing porphyry system with aircore (AC) drilling at the Northern Zone Intrusive Hosted Gold Project in Western Australia, which now stretches over 600 metres of strike.
The company believes the drill bit is contacting the very top of the gold system, with results from the first eight of 30 completed drill holes confirming the presence of a large, mineralised zone.
The results from the remaining 22 holes are still pending.
System could be much larger than expected
“Our latest drilling and geological modelling at Northern Zone have confirmed the presence of significant gold within this expansive, yet still undefined, massive porphyry system located just east of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia,” Riversgold chair David Lenigas said.
“We’ve now identified that the porphyry system may be much larger than originally prognosed, with one section, as shown in this release, extending up to 600 metres in width.
“We are developing plans to drill across the tenement to further explore the upper elevation of this blind porphyry.
“Additional drill results are pending, and this gold project is fast becoming very interesting.”
The company says these results offer validation for the current exploration target at Northern Zone, which suggests potential for between 2.5 million ounces and 4.8 million ounces of gold.
Earlier results indicate breadth of mineralisation
Results from this first batch of eight holes include gold grades such as 4 metres at 1.05 g/t gold from 30 metres of depth and 5 metres at 1.5 g/t gold from 30 metres, while earlier drilling has demonstrated the potential width of the system.
In July, an AC program produced 16 metres at 4.69 g/t gold from 30 metres, and earlier diamond and RC drilling have generated intersections of 110 metres at 0.6 g/t gold from 208 metres and 330 metres at 0.49 g/t gold from 30 metres, including a 54.79-metre section at 1.15 g/t gold from 213 metres.
Riversgold says it will continue to drill the gold system at the Northern Zone to gain a better understanding of its geology before moving toward a mineral resource estimate.
The porphyry system remains open in multiple directions, and RGL believes recent advances by Saturn Metals Limited on the nearby Apollo Hill Gold Project (with a mineral resource of 1.839 million ounces) have suggested potential for a sizable low-grade heap leach operation at Northern Zone.