Hamelin Gold (ASX:HMG) has started its maiden diamond drilling program at the Day Dawn Gold Project in Western Australia’s Paterson Province, aiming to test the down-plunge extensions of the Aurora lodes.
The program, which commenced on 22 October, comprises about 16 holes for 1,500m and is expected to take two to three weeks to complete. Drilling is being undertaken using a DDH-1 rig.
The campaign will use diamond tails to extend selected reverse circulation (RC) pre-collars from the phase two program. Dedicated large-diameter core holes will also be drilled through the upper Aurora and Altus lodes.
Diamond drilling will replace RC below roughly 150–200m depth, where wet sample returns were encountered, to maintain sample quality.
The large-diameter core will provide material for preliminary metallurgical test work. It will also generate structural data to refine interpretations from downhole televiewer surveys and inform the project’s three-dimensional structural model.
Day Dawn covers about 20km² and is located 10km northwest of the more than 20-million-ounce Telfer gold-copper mine.
Hamelin notes that recent drilling has identified reef-style gold mineralisation at Day Dawn, introducing a second mineralisation style alongside the steep feeder-style lodes.
The company considers this combination analogous to the geological architecture of major Proterozoic sediment-hosted gold deposits, including Telfer.
Managing Director Peter Bewick says the maiden program marks another ‘important step’ in testing the broader potential of the project.
“Geological observations from the phase two RC program support our view that the Aurora and Altus lodes may represent the upper position of a potentially significant, depth extensive mineral system,” Bewick notes.
“This program is designed to build on that interpretation.”
Assay results from the expanded 35-hole, approximately 4,000m phase two RC program are due shortly. Diamond core will be geologically and structurally logged and sampled on site before being transported to Perth for analysis.
Hamelin’s major shareholders include Gold Fields (NYSE:GFI) and Vault Minerals (ASX:VAU).
Hamelin Gold is an Australian gold explorer advancing a portfolio of projects across the Tanami, Paterson, and Yilgarn provinces of Western Australia.
Write to JC Villarba at Mining.com.au
Images: Hamelin Gold
