Hamelin Gold (ASX:HMG) has jumped straight into drill testing new targets after defining new areas of gold anomalism in previously underexplored parts of its West Tanami and Anderson ground in Western Australia.
A 60-hole aircore drilling program is underway at the Jazz Prospect, where surface soil sampling and the application of Ultrafine analytical technology defined a coincident gold and multi-element pathfinder anomaly to the west of the Sultan targets.
Managing Director Peter Bewick says the expansion of the use of soil sampling and Ultrafine analysis across the West Tanami and Hamelin’s sand-covered Yilgarn projects in Western Australia is proving successful at defining areas of gold anomalism in previously under-explored regions.
“The recently defined Jazz anomaly in the West Tanami occurs where two key structures intersect and is hosted within a highly prospective dolerite unit,” he says.
“Jazz has strong multi-element support and has the geochemical footprint similar to other major gold deposits in the Tanami region.”
The Jazz gold prospect is located in the northwest of the West Tanami project, to the west of the Sultan gold corridor.
In 2023, soil sampling and analysis using the CSIRO-developed Ultrafine analytical technique identified two discrete gold anomalies — named Sultan West and Sultan Central — along the sand covered Sultan gold corridor.
Aircore and reverse circulation drilling at Sultan West identified regolith and bedrock gold mineralisation directly beneath the Ultrafine gold anomalies.
Results of drilling included 4m @ 0.58 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from 20m to the end of the hole; 8m @ 0.94g/t from 16m, including 2m @ 2.6g/t from 18m; and 2m @ 6.12g/t from 52m.
Hamelin says the confirmation of bedrock gold mineralisation below the Sultan West anomaly outlined in the Ultrafine soil survey provides the first validation of the use of this new technology in the Tanami region.
West Tanami is a ‘belt-scale’ gold project that covers 2,277km2 of a well endowed, emerging gold province that is significantly underexplored, according to Hamelin Gold.
The company completed a program of over 3,000 soil samples providing an initial test of 11 regional scale targets.
One of the larger programs tested an area to the west of the Sultan and Afghan gold corridors and has identified three discrete gold anomalies within a structurally complex area containing folded and faulted dolerite units.
This area has been named the Jazz prospect and is coincident with a ‘large-scale’ multi-element anomaly enriched in a suite of pathfinder elements – including tellurium, tungsten, bismuth, arsenic, and molybdenum – that are known to be associated with gold mineral systems in the Tanami region.
The arsenic and tungsten pathfinder anomalies are interpreted to be mapping the orientation of a major north-northwest trending structure.
Hamelin says the intersection of this structure with the Sultan and Afghan gold corridors outlines two high priority structural targets.
Coincident gold anomalism and geological complexity in this area has delivered two priority gold targets that will be the focus of the current aircore drill program.
Results of drilling are expected in December.
Meanwhile, roadside sampling and Ultrafine analysis completed at the Anderson Project has defined an area of gold anomalism that extends over 8km in strike with a maximum point value of 0.17g/t gold.
The project sits 40km north of Hyden in the Western Gneiss Terrane of the southwest Yilgarn Province in Western Australia.
This 340km2 exploration licence covers an area of gold anomalism identified by an historical regional roadside laterite sampling program completed in the late 1990s.
Limited shallow drilling completed in 2008 over the core of a regional gold anomaly intersected broad low-level gold anomalism, as well as several “significant end of hole gold intersections”.
A surface geochemical trial survey using the Ultrafine method was completed along the roadsides to test the effectiveness of this analysis technique against the historical laterite sampling program.
Hamelin says the results from this early stage program are “very encouraging”, with clear zones of gold anomalism defined over an area of about 8km by 2km.
The next phase of work at Anderson will focus on additional soil sampling within the defined area.
Pending landowner approval, this phase of soils will be completed along existing fire breaks, fence lines, and tracks to provide more detailed sample coverage and define areas for potential drill testing.
Write to Angela East at Mining.com.au
Images: Hamelin Gold
