Yandal Resources Ltd (ASX:YRL) is following up on results from the emerging Siona gold discovery with a twelve-hole, 2,500-metre reverse circulation (RC) program.
The Siona Prospect, within licence E53/1843, is in the broader New England Granite (NEG) area and the broader Ironstone Well–Barwidgee (IWB) Gold Project.
It is just 45 kilometres north of Northern Star Ltd’s Bronzewing historical mining centre and 75 kilometres south of the Jundee mining centre, within the Yandal Greenstone Belt.
The program is targeting both the geometry and extent of mineralisation.
Drilling will include RC holes positioned to test both up and down dip relative to previous intersections, which include promising results of 78 metres at 1.2 g/t gold from 96 metres to end-of-hole in hole 24IWBRC0039, and 14 metres at 1.8 g/t gold from 63 metres in hole 24IWBRC0044.The mineralisation here is open down hole, down dip and along strike.
Cross section A, across Siona, showing mineralisation from 24IWBRC0039, including 78 metres @1.2g/t gold from 96 metres down-hole to bottom of the hole.
Further holes within the program will explore the mineralised system’s reach along strike to the northwest and southeast, aiming to delineate the full extent of the mineralisation.
This RC drilling campaign is expected to wrap up in about two weeks, with initial results anticipated by mid-to-late November. If the company delivers early results and geological observations, additional drill holes may be added to the program.
In parallel, Yandal has completed an air-core drilling program across the Caladan and Irulan target areas, marking progress in exploring the broader potential within the Ironstone Well–Barwidgee Gold Project.
“The exploration team has performed well to get an RC rig back at Siona less than two weeks after receiving the results for 24IWBRC0039.
"With the company in a strong cash position, the team is now focused on developing the Siona geology model as drilling progresses and delivering high-quality samples to the lab as efficiently as possible,” Yandal Resources managing director Chris Oorschot said.
“We will begin targeting similar structural positions across the broader New England Granite as our geological understanding of Siona grows.”
Following up on results
Early drilling results from the Siona Prospect revealed two notable intercepts in RC holes 24IWBRC0039 and 24IWBRC0044, suggesting the potential for a new gold discovery.
Plan view over the Siona discovery area, showing all drilling and drill traces.
The company’s shares soared on the results with Oorschot saying, “These results are exceptional and may represent a significant emerging gold discovery within the Ironstone Well-Barwidgee Gold Project.
“The timing of this discovery is exciting given the current gold price setting.
“Significantly, this result validates the revised targeting modelling developed following the completion of the Exploration Incentive Scheme (EIS) diamond drilling earlier this year, which implies that there could be several similar structural settings comparable to Siona present across the broader New England Granite area.”
What’s next
The company has a busy close to calendar year 2024, with a series of exploration activities and anticipated news flow: