Kin Mining (ASX:KIN) reports initial diamond drilling as part of the next phase of exploration and resource growth has confirmed ‘large-scale’ gold targets at the Cardinia Gold Project in Western Australia.
The company says these holes have intersected ‘significant’ zones of mineralisation at the targeted positions, and the drilling program is aiming to evaluate a number of induced polarisation (IP) geophysical anomalies located below the Helens, Helens East, Cardinia Hill and Rangoon deposits within the Eastern Corridor.
The deeper IP targets were generated by reprocessing data from historical IP surveys completed by Navigator Resources in 2013, and these targets were developed following the completion of petrophysical testing on selected samples of ‘high-grade’ quartz sulphide mineralisation from the Helens, Rangoon and Cardinia Hill deposits that indicated that moderate IP responses were generated from sulphide mineralised samples that also carried elevated gold mineralisation.
Kin reports a total of 5 separate targets have been identified and are being systematically tested with a series of diamond drillholes around 350m deep, and all 5 targets are located on 2 IP sections from the Kurrajong surrey where mapping and resistivity data suggest the host rock is mafic or felsic volcanics.
It also states this is the first generation of deeper targets to be tested at Cardinia and represent a ‘significant’ exploration development for the project.
“The first 3 diamond holes, which were collared to test a series of IP anomalies, have intersected significant zones of mineralisation in the targeted position”
Kin Mining Managing Director Andrew Muckton said “We have made an outstanding start to the current diamond drill program, which is designed to test the first generation of deeper targets at Cardinia potentially to uncover new large-scale discoveries within the exciting Eastern Corridor.
The first 3 diamond holes, which were collared to test a series of IP anomalies, have intersected significant zones of mineralisation in the targeted position.
Hole IP001 also intersected visible free gold in a new mineralised position, which is highly encouraging and rare in the Cardinia area.
While it’s still early days, the results are very encouraging and show that IP works very well at mapping buried sulphide zones in the Eastern Corridor. The upside potential for the project is substantial.”
Kin reports mineralisation within the Eastern Corridor is situated within the north-south striking fault zones which pass through the area, cross cutting stratigraphy and ‘typically’ hosting gold resources, and this gold mineralisation is characterised by carbonatite-sericite rich alteration zones with quartz veining and pyrite along these structures at the contact of strongly altered mafic and felsic rocks.
It also notes gold mineralisation discovered to date within the Eastern Corridor extends to an area of around 1km by 5km on the eastern side of the Cardinia Project and collectively hosts more than 320,000 ounces of shallow open pit material.
Drillhole IP001 intersected 3 zones of laminated quartz veining, alteration and very fine disseminated sulphides within mafic and felsic host rock, and the company reports the upper zone between 104m and 131m contains thin laminated quartz veins, carbonate alteration and minor pyrite adjacent to the mafic or felsic rock contact.
One of the thin veins showed coarse free gold at 104.7m downhole and sits vertically below a pre-2017 RAB hole that assayed 2m @ 27.9g/t Au from 3m in CR0335.
The middle zone consists of discrete series’ of laminated to brecciated quartz-carbonate veins with halos of sericite-carbonate alteration up to 2m wide, and the spacing between these sections is 5m to 10m, and this occurs between 150m and 209m downhole.
The lower zone consisted of 13m of matrix and disseminated, fine to coarse sulphide mineralisation in strongly altered siliceous rock between 266m and 279m downhole, which the company says is consistent with the ‘strongest’ IP chargeability anomaly, and sulphide content is visually estimated to be around 5% within this zone and is logged as pyrite with minor arsenopyrite.
Kin reports drillholes IP002 and IP003 has also been completed as planned, with IP002 intersecting a broad zone of mafic and felsic rock and a large brecciated section between 103m and 202m downhole, and the brecciated section contained fragments of sulphide mineralisation similar in appearance to the mineralised positions intersected at the Helens deposit located around 200m to the west. These fragments tend to contain 2% to 3% pyrite on average.
At 336m and 352m, IP002 intersected sulphidic sediments, shale and chert over short intersections within strongly altered mafic rock interpreted to be the source of the deeper conductive anomaly, and no ‘significant’ zones of sulphide mineralisation away from the sulphidic sediments were intersected.
Kin states IP003 intersected thin bands of graphite within felsic porphyry units consistent with areas containing ‘significant’ amounts of carbonate alteration, and the graphitic zones appear to coincide with the IP anomalies downhole, and no ‘significant’ zones of sulphide mineralisation were intersected.
IP geophysical surveys coupled with detailed geological mapping at surface to position the ‘fertile’ structures appears to accurately map the position of sulphide mineralisation within the Eastern Corridor, and the company expects this feature to also be reflected in all ‘significant’ sulphide mineralisation in the greater Cardinia area.
Kin reports further detailed IP surveys are required to infill the existing reprocessed Kurrajong survey completed in 2013 to provide a consistent 3D picture of likely mineralised positions to around 300m below surface.
The company will complete the remaining 2 diamond drillholes in this program before ramping up other exploration activities in the Eastern Corridor as part of its ongoing exploration campaign at Cardinia with additional targets identified on other IP sections that have been reprocessed, and these additional targets will be tested to determine the IP chargeability anomaly source.
Assay results from the first 3 deep diamond holes are expected to be returned in around 4 weeks, and following the completion of this work, further closer-spaced IP surveys will be completed to map additional mineralised positions that may warrant further drill testing.
Kin Mining is a Western Australian based gold development and exploration company focused on its wholly owned Cardinia Gold Project located in the Northeastern Goldfields region.
Other assets held by the company include the Raeside, Randwick, Mt Flora, Murrin Murrin, Redcastle, Desdemona, Iron King Group and the Mt Fouracre projects.
Images: Kin Mining NL
