Catalyst Metals Limited (ASX: CYL), in conjunction with Navarre Minerals Limited (ASX: NML), has announced a highly positive update on its Tandarra Gold project in Victoria.
CYL stated an encouraging update on that the initial air core reconnaissance drilling testing the extensions of gold-mineralised trends towards the southern and northern boundaries of the project tenement Retention Licence (RL) 006660.
The company reported that a new zone of gold mineralisation was discovered called Lawry Zone, 500 metres east of Tomorrow Trend. CYL said that the Lawry Zone is open to north, south, and at depth.
Catalyst Metals announced that the gold mineralisation on the Tomorrow and Macnaughtan trends has been extended south by up to 1.2 kilometres.
Significant results include 31.0 metres @ 1.2g/t Au from 56 metres in drill hole 378, (including 1.0 metre @ 10.2g/t Au at rock refusal) (Lawry zone); 2.0 metres @ 1.7g/t Au from 91 metres in drill hole 376 (Lawry Zone); 3.0 metres @ 2.1g/t Au from 78 metres in drill hole 458 (Tomorrow Zone); and 3.0 metres @ 5.3g/t Au from 102 metres in drill hole 444 (Macnaughtan zone).
The company announced that programs of infill air core and confirmatory reverse circulation drilling are planned.
Tandarra project
The Tandarra Gold Project is situated along the Whitelaw Fault, about 40 kilometres north of Bendigo in Central Victoria. Significant structures within Tandarra include Tomorrow and Macnaughtan trend.
Catalyst and Navarre Minerals Limited had entered into a Heads of Agreement which enables Catalyst (through a 100% subsidiary, Kite Operations Pty Ltd) to earn a 51% interest in the tenement by spending $3 million on exploration over a period of 4 years.
Drilling at Tandarra
Catalyst had undertaken drilling programs beyond the limits of previous exploration to trace the gold-mineralised structural zones towards the southern and northern limits of the project tenement Retention Licence (RL) 006660.
Southern Extension
CYL said that 86 angled air core (AC) drill holes, for a total of 9,956 metres, spaced 50 metres (E-W) along traverses spaced at approximately 200 metres (N-S) were drilled across the projection of the Tomorrow and Macnaughtan gold trends. Drilling was more closely spaced (25-30 metres) immediately south of the Tomorrow zone.
Lawry Zone
The company reported that approximately 750 metres south-east of the southern end of the Tomorrow Zone, assays revealed a new zone of gold mineralisation (the Lawry Zone) on each of two traverses, 200 metres apart, which test the mineralised trend.
CYL said that the mineralisation is highlighted by a wide zone of quartz-hosted gold mineralisation in air-core hole, ACT378 which terminated, at refusal, in massive impenetrable quartz grading 10.2g/t Au.
The company noted that the absence of drilling to the north and sparse drilling south leaves the mineralisation open in both directions.
Key intersections recorded in the Lawry Zone include 31.0 metres @ 1.24g/t Au (including 5.0 metres @ 2.40g/t Au and 1 metre @ 10.15g/t Au) from 56 metres in ACT378; 2.0 metres @ 1.68g/t Au from 91 metres in ACT376; and 1.0 metres @ 1.45g/t Au from 71 metres in ACT381.
Tomorrow Zone extension
The company reported that gold mineralisation on several traverses potentially comprises a 1,200 metre long southern extension of the Tomorrow Zone.
Key intersections recorded in the Tomorrow Zone extension include 2.0 metres @ 1.84g/t Au from 125m and 2.0 metres @ 1.49/t Au from 69 metres in ACT373; and 3.0 metres @ 2.1g/t Au from 78 metres in ACT458.
Macnaughtan Zone extension
The company said that a further 200 metres to the west abundant quartz veining and Au-As assays clearly demonstrate the southerly extension by 400 metres of Macnaughtan mineralised zone, also remaining open to the south.
Key intersections recorded in the Macnaughtan extension zone include 3.0 metres @ 5.25g/t Au from 102 metres in ACT444; and 3.0 metres @ 2.78g/t Au from 96 metres in ACT446.
Catalyst announced that follow up drilling is proposed for each of these three zones of mineralisation identified in the current program by drilling at reconnaissance scale.
Northern extension
CYL announced that a similar reconnaissance program, with traverses of AC drill holes approximately 1 kilometre apart (25 holes, 2,953 metres, over approximately 7 kilometres of strike) was undertaken between the northern end of Tomorrow-Macnaughtan gold zones and a previously reported significant intersection (ACT221) in the extreme north of the lease.
It may be noted that the previously reported result from drill hole ACT 221 included 2.0 metres @ 33.1g/t Au from 129 metres in ACT221.
CYL said that the result is supported in the current program by a traverse 500 metres to the south, containing a recognisable anomaly of 3.0 metres @ 0.2g/t Au from 99 metres in ACT384
The company said that having regard to the wide spacing between traverses it is considered that this 7 kilometre zone warrants follow up AC drilling, albeit with a lower priority than the mineralisation outlined in the south.
Next steps
Catalyst announced that the planning for follow-up phases of AC and RC drilling is underway, potentially to be undertaken during the coming quarter, subject to weather conditions through the autumn and any health and safety considerations and government restrictions arising from the COVID-19 global epidemic.
The company said that further aircore drilling is warranted to infill and extend the gold zones delineated at Tomorrow South, Macnaughtans, and the new Lawry zone east of the Tomorrow trend.
CYL reported that Reverse Circulation and Diamond Drilling would follow to test the mineralisation at depth subject to ongoing results.
Management statements
Mr. Bruce Kay, Catalyst’s Technical Director, said: “The discovery of high grade gold in a third mineralised structure and the demonstration of gold mineralisation in multiple zones over previously un-drilled strike lengths of more than 200 metres, remaining open to the south is a highly encouraging outcome from this first-pass program.”