Mineral exploration company Great Boulder Resources (ASX:GBR) reports it has launched its 2023 exploration program at the Whiteheads Project in Western Australia.
A program of 416 soil samples has been completed at the Painkiller and Leachers prospects during January, sampling the ferruginous horizons for potential base metals anomalism.
Assays are expected in mid to late March, and will be used to define and prioritise targets for follow-up exploration programs.
Also, during November and December 2022, the company’s geologists completed a large-scale mapping exercise over the southeastern area of the Side Well prospect with the aim of improving Great Boulder’s understanding of the stratigraphic and structural framework of that part of the Polelle Syncline.
While this mapping was being carried out, Great Boulder also sampled any available bottom-of-hole chips from historic drilling within the mapping area to collate surface observations with lithogeochemical data.
Once all assays are received and collated the combined mapping project, the company says it will provide a greatly improved understanding of the local and regional geology, age relationships, and possible thrust structures, all of which will assist with ongoing exploration targeting in the area,
Great Boulder also reports a program of 355 auger samples have been completed in the Ironbark North area. This program was designed to infill previous auger samples from 400m by 50m spacing to 200m by 50m spacing to provide improved definition of geochemical anomalies in the area.
Commenting on the exploration program, Great Boulder Managing Director Andrew Paterson says: “Our exploration team has taken full advantage of the break in drilling by completing a comprehensive mapping program at Side Well, concentrating on the area from Ironbark to the southern end of the tenement.
This will be a huge benefit to our understanding of the local stratigraphy, which in turn will assist with exploration targeting. We’ve also completed surface sampling programs at the highly prospective Ironbark North prospect at Side Well and the Painkiller prospect at Whiteheads.
“We’ve also completed surface sampling programs at the highly prospective Ironbark North prospect at Side Well and the Painkiller prospect at Whiteheads”
Meanwhile we have an external consultant working on the first Mineral Resource Estimate for Mulga Bill and Ironbark. That will be ready soon, and we’ll resume RC drilling at Side Well in the first week of February.”
Great Boulder reports a maiden Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) is being prepared by an external consultant using all drilling and geological information collected from Mulga Bill and Ironbark. This will quantify the ‘high-grade’ gold mineralisation defined by drilling over the past 2 years at Side Well, and demonstrate the broader potential of the project.
The company expects the MRE to be ready within the next 4 weeks, with resource estimation workstreams now well advanced. Challenge drilling will return to site to recommence reverse circulation (RC) drilling at Ironbark and Mulga Bill in the first week of February to follow-up growth opportunities highlighted by the MRE.
Great Boulder Resources is a mineral exploration company with a portfolio of ‘highly’ prospective gold and base metal assets ranging from greenfields through to advanced exploration located in Western Australia.
These projects include the Side Well Gold, Wellington Zinc-Lead, and Whiteheads Gold projects.
Images: Great Boulder Resources Ltd