Barra Resources Limited (ASX: BAR) has announced an encouraging update on the recent drill program at its Burbanks Gold Project in Western Australia.
The company reported that a 24 hole, 3,913m, RC drilling campaign has been completed at Burbanks.
BAR said that the high-grade intersections immediately down-plunge of mining stopes enhance the opportunity identified in the recent scoping study.
Barra said that the potential discovery of a new lode at depth between Main Lode and Burbanks North is now a high priority target for follow-up drilling.
The company said that the continuity of structure and mineralisation was confirmed between Main Lode and Burbanks North, thereby delineating a continuous mineralised strike of over 3.5km along the Burbanks Shear Zone.
Some of the best results include 3m @ 24.69g/t Au from 167m down-hole; 8m @ 4.10g/t Au from 159m down-hole; 2m @ 16.30g/t Au from 173m down-hole; 3m @ 5.38g/t Au from 185m down-hole; and 4m @ 2.58g/t Au from 168m down-hole.
Burbanks Project
The Burbanks Project is located 9km southeast of Coolgardie, Western Australia. The Project includes the Burbanks Mining Centre and over 5km of the highly prospective Burbanks Shear Zone, historically the most significant gold producing structure within the Coolgardie Goldfield.
The Burbanks Mining Centre comprises the Birthday Gift and Main Lode Gold Mines.
The total Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resource for the Burbanks Gold Project is 1.2 Million Tonnes (Mt) at 3.7 g/t Au for 145,700 ounces of gold.
Drilling at Burbanks
The company had recently completed its latest phase of Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling at Burbanks project, in line with its gold strategy. The program followed highly successful drilling programs in and 2018, and an inaugural Mineral Resource Estimate for Main Lode of 29,900 Oz at 2.59 g/t gold.
The key objectives of this program were to extend the existing Mineral Resource between the historic Main Lode and Birthday Gift Gold Mines from its current depth of 100m below surface to 200m below surface; and to extend the strike of the Main Lode system by targeting the gap between Main Lode and the Burbanks North deposit and, if successful and continuity can be demonstrated, a continuous 3.5km of mineralised strike length along the Burbanks Shear Zone
The drilling program at Main Lode saw 24 RC drill holes drilled for 3,913m. 10 holes were drilled below the existing Mineral Resource between Main Lode and Birthday Gift, while 13 holes were drilled between Main Lode and Burbanks North on an approximate 50m x 50m spacing.
High-grade intersections
The company reported high-grade intersections from the drilling at Burbanks.
BAR said that that among the holes drilled below the existing Mineral Resource between Main Lode and Birthday Gift, 6 holes intersected widths between 2 and 9m (down-hole) grading between 1.0 and 24.7g/t Au.
Highlights include 2m @ 16.3g/t Au (hole BBRC299) and 3m @ 24.67g/t Au (hole BBRC300).
Barra reported that hole BBRC303 intersected 8m @ 4.01g/t Au (incl. 4m @ 7.23g/t Au) from 159m down-hole, and 5m @ 1.61g/t Au (incl. 2m @ 3.14g/t Au) from 176m approximately 100m down-plunge of previously identified high-grade mineralisation.
The company reported that hole BBRC292 intersected 3m @ 5.38g/t Au while hole BBRC294 intersected 4m @ 2.58g/t Au, associated with sheared diorite, at depth and over 100m south of Burbanks North.
BAR said that a significant fault-zone, up to 40m thick (down-hole width), was intersected in holes BBRC288, 289, 291 and 295.
Future plans
The company reported that it now looks forward to comprehensively interpreting the results of the program prior to planning for the next phase of drilling.
Barra said that it continues to assess the prospect of mining the recently identified stopes from the previously announced scoping study, subject to completing the right deal with the appropriate partner to balance the risk and reward of a mining endeavour.
BAR reported that further work may include additional infill drilling along strike to the north and south of Main Lode and an updated Mineral Resource Estimation.
Management comments
Barra’s Managing Director and CEO Sean Gregory said: “The proximity of these high-grade results to mineralisation identified for mining in our recent scoping study raises their significance and enhances the mining opportunity available at Burbanks.
The additional discovery of a new mineralised position below a hitherto unrecognised fault, represents a new exploration focus and obvious drill target going forward.”