Meeka Metals (ASX:MEK) reports reverse circulation (RC) drilling at the Murchison Gold Project, near Meekatharra in Western Australia has found visible gold observed in RC chips.
At the St Anne’s prospect, the visible gold was found in RC chips from hole 22SARC005 below previously reported results:
- 32m @ 16.07g/t Au from 48m including 16m @ 28.59g/t Au (22SAAC058)
- 20m @ 20.7g/t Au from 48m, including 16m @ 24.86g/t Au (22SAAC061)
Currently 5,282m of shallow extensional and RC drill samples are being processed or in transit to the laboratory.
Diamond drilling will commence in early October, and target primary mineralisation below and along strike from hole 22SARC005.
An initial St Anne’s Mineral Resource remains on track for release in the December 2022 quarter.
Due to the potential for St Anne’s to have a meaningful impact on the production profile and financial outcomes of the Study, it has been decided to defer the pre-feasibility study until the June 2023 quarter to allow the inclusion of St Anne’s.
Meeka Managing Director Tim Davidson said the positive results from the ongoing drilling at St Anne’s gives the company confidence this ‘large’ gold system will continue to grow.
“This is reinforced by early indications from RC drilling underway at St Anne’s that has intersected abundant visible gold at the target depth below previously reported shallow, high grade intersections in the oxide horizon.
“Given the shallow, high-grade nature of mineralisation at St Anne’s and the potential for this to have a meaningful impact on the outcome of the Study, we have decided to defer the release of the Study”
“Given the shallow, high-grade nature of mineralisation at St Anne’s and the potential for this to have a meaningful impact on the outcome of the Study, we have decided to defer the release of the study.
The expanded study incorporating St Anne’s will now be released in mid-2023. This will allow us to optimise the impact of St Anne’s on our other mining centres and mill sizing.
In addition to drilling underway in the Murchison, diamond drilling has commenced at Circle Valley.
This short program will provide valuable information for a larger drill program commencing in January 2023.”
In addition to drilling underway in the Murchison, a short diamond drilling program has commenced at Circle Valley following up on ‘high-grade’ gold results returned from RC drilling in the first half of 2022, including:
- 23m @ 5.09g/t Au from 13m, including 10m @ 0.35g/t Au and including 7m @ 2.92g/t Au (22CVRC001)
- 24m @ 1.21g/t Au from 24m (22CVRC010)
- 16m @ 3.06g/t Au from 32m, including 4m @ 10.80g/t Au (22CVRC009)
- 10m @ 4.72g/t Au from 120m, including 4m @ 10.20g/t Au (22CVRC008)- hole ends in mineralisation
The first diamond hole intersected a ‘high-grade’ metamorphic folded assemblage intruded by late narrow pegmatitic intrusions.
Silica flooding and potassic alteration with biotitic zones is observed in the core, as well as potassic feldspar associated with zones of migmatisation.
Diamond drilling is ongoing and will provide valuable information in advance of a larger drill program commencing in January 2023.
Meeka Metals is a gold and rare earths company with a portfolio of high quality 100% owned projects across Western Australia.
The company’s flagship Murchison Gold Project has a combined 343km-square landholding in the prolific Murchison Gold Project Scoping Study in December 2021 outlined a robust Project that produces over 420koz of gold.
In addition, Meeka owns the Circle Valley Project (222km-square) in the Albany-Fraser Mobile Belt (also host to the Tropicana gold mine- 3Moz past production).
Gold mineralisation has been identified in four separate locations at Circle Valley and presents an exciting growth opportunity, which is being aggressively pursued.
Meeka controls the Cascade Rare Earths Project in a region that is rapidly emerging as a ‘highly’ prospective clay rare earths province.
Importantly, the results to date contain high levels of permanent magnet metals being Neodymium-Praseodymium oxides.
These metals are geopolitically critical, and Meeka intends to accelerate our understanding of Cascade through metallurgical work and ongoing drilling.
Circle Valley also hosts clay rare earths within ‘thick, near surface’ mineralised zones below shallow transported cover.
The mineralisation persistently demonstrates a high proportion of the grade as neodymium-praseodymium oxides. Metallurgical work, in addition to infill and extensional drilling remain ongoing.
An initial Mineral Resource is targeted for 2023.
Images: Meeka Metals Ltd
