Australian Gold and Copper (ASX:AGC) has returned its first assays from a maiden drilling campaign at the Evergreen prospect within the Browns Reef Project in New South Wales.
Drilling was conducted to test beneath historical silver-gold-base metal mineralisation, intersecting copper, gold, silver, zinc, and lead mineralisation.
Assays returned from hole 26DDBR006 intersected a broad mineralised zone from 353m.
Results returned include 35m @ 0.5% copper, 6 grams per tonne silver, and 1.3% zinc and lead from 353m, including 6m @ 2% copper and 17g/t silver from 362m, further including 4m @ 2.5% copper and 19g/t silver from 364m, and 7m @ 0.3g/t gold and 3.5% zinc and lead from 368m.
Assays from hole 26DDBR004 returned 5.1m @ 2.7g/t gold and 8.3% lead and zinc from 193m, including 3m @ 3.7g/t gold and 10.5% lead and zinc from 194m.
Hole 26DDBR004 was located 200m up dip of hole 26DDBR006. The company says hole 26DDBR004 returned the “most significant gold grades intersected at Evergreen to date”.
Managing Director Glen Diemar says the first drill results have exceeded the company’s expectations.
“Hole 26DDBR006 has confirmed a significant copper-rich zone beneath the historical Evergreen holes, while 26DDBR004 has delivered the highest gold grades seen at the prospect to date,” Diemar says.
“Importantly, these are only the first assays from a much larger drilling program.
“We now have another eight holes completed and awaiting results, which will help define the scale and continuity of the Evergreen system as we work towards an initial mineral resource estimate.”
The company is progressing diamond drilling at the prospect, with assays from the next eight holes expected in the coming weeks.
Core processing is underway for the fourth hole of the current diamond drilling program. Results from the Tooronga aircore program are still being interpreted with detailed microscopic analysis of bottom-of-hole samples. Initial findings are expected shortly.
Australian Gold and Copper has started field activities, which are being conducted while the company is integrating the historical database and focused on advancing drill targeting for several priority prospects.
Australian Gold and Copper is a silver, gold, and copper explorer focused on advancing assets in the central Lachlan Fold Belt of New South Wales.
Write to Maddison Elliott at Mining.com.au
Images: Australian Gold and Copper
