Musgrave Minerals Ltd (ASX: MGV) has announced further high-grade assay results including 5m @ 12.1g/t Au from 90m from the regional scout aircore drilling program on the Lake Austin Joint Venture with Evolution Mining Ltd at the Company’s flagship Cue Gold Project in Western Australia’s Murchison district.
The company said that the aircore drilling results from Lake Austin have extended the gold anomalism and defined high-grade zones of regolith gold for basement drill testing.
New significant gold intersections include 5m @ 12.1g/t Au from 90m including 1m @ 53.7g/t Au from 90m; and 69m @ 0.8g/t Au from 126m to EOH including 23m @ 1.3g/t Au from 159m.
MGV said that the Phase 2 regional aircore drilling program is part of the Evolution Joint Venture over Lake Austin and has now been completed.
Musgrave noted that Phase 1 and Phase 2 drilling, totalling more than 48,895m have successfully identified multiple high-priority basement gold targets for follow-up diamond drilling.
Cue gold project
Cue Project is located in the Murchison district of Western Australia. The project consists of the Moyagee Gold and Hollandaire Copper areas in the highly prospective Murchison province of Western Australia.
The project hosts total resources of 6.45Mt @ 3.0g/t Au for 613koz including the Break of Day deposit (868Kt @ 7.2g/t Au for 199koz contained gold) and the Lena deposit (4,3Mt @ 2.3g/t Au for 325koz contained gold) located 130m to the west.
Musgrave had executed an $18 million Earn-in and Exploration Joint Venture with Evolution Mining Ltd over the Lake Austin portion of the Cue Project, called the Evolution JV.
Important areas of Cue project include Break of Day prospect, Lena gold resources, Mainland, and the Lake Austin North gold discovery. The Starlight and White Light gold lodes are located at Break of Day.
The Break of Day, Starlight, and Lena prospects are located on granted mining lease M21/106 and the primary tenement holder is Musgrave Minerals Ltd.
High-grade historical results
In 2018 and 2019, Musgrave had intersected significant thicknesses of basement gold mineralisation at the A-Zone target on Lake Austin. Highlights included 36m @ 3.6g/t Au from 111m (18MORC039); 242m @ 1.0g/t Au from 61m (18MODD008) including 45m @ 3.3g/t Au from 70m; and 93m @ 1.3g/t Au from 98.7m (19MODD008)
Aircore drilling at Lake Austin
The company had recently completed two phases of regional aircore drilling at Lake Austin under the Evolution Joint Venture. The aim of the aircore programs was to obtain geological and geochemical information to integrate with geophysical data and provide vectors for basement drilling. The combined Phase 1 and Phase 2 programs comprised 436 holes for 48,895m on Lake Austin.
High-grade results from Phase 1
Assays results for 249 drill holes (22,879m) in the Phase 1 program were reported in June 2020.
Significant results at Lake Austin North from the Phase 1 program included 6m @ 4.2g/t Au from 116m (20MOAC031) including 1m @ 18.2g/t Au from 117m; 9m @ 2.25g/t Au from 136m to EOH (20MOAC041); 13m @ 0.53g/t Au from 128m to EOH (20MOAC248); 20m @ 0.30g/t Au from 130m (20MOAC023); and 28m @ 0.29g/t Au from 96m to EOH (20MOAC032).
Results reported for Phase 2 program
The Phase 2 program comprised 187 holes for 26,016m. The company has now reported the results for the first 100 drill holes of this program.
MGV said that the results from Phase 1 extended the Lake Austin North target to more than 5.5km of strike, confirming potential for a large, mineralised gold system, and when integrated with the Phase 2 program has identified multiple high-priority basement gold targets for follow-up.
High-grade intersections from Phase 2 drilling
Musgrave announced that the results for Phase 2 have extended and infilled the Lake Austin North gold anomalism where it remains open.
MGV said that the extensive gold regolith ‘halo’ at Lake Austin North comprises multiple, individual zones following and adjacent to the tonalite-mafic contact along a major gold anomalous structural corridor (Lena-Break of Day shear corridor).
The company said that a combination of four metre composite assays and one metre individual samples have been received to date from the Phase 2 aircore program over the Lake Austin North area.
Highlights include 5m @ 12.1g/t Au from 90m (20MOAC258) including 1m @ 53.7g/t Au from 90m; 3m @ 1.27g/t Au from 128m (20MOAC261) to EOH with hole terminating in mineralisation; 13m @ 1.9g/t Au from 96m (20MOAC273) including 1m @ 17.2g/t Au from 106m; 69m @ 0.8g/t Au from 126m (20MOAC282) to EOH with hole terminating in mineralisation and including 23m @ 1.3g/t Au from 159m; 16m @ 0.75g/t Au from 148m (20MOAC327); and 44m @ 0.46g/t Au from 112m (20MOAC342)
Results awaited for 87 holes
MGV said that results for a further 87 holes are awaited from the Lake Austin North and West Island targets. The company said that when received, will be integrated with existing datasets to define final basement drill hole locations for diamond drilling, expected to commence in late February 2021.
Musgrave said that many of the aircore drill holes in both Phases of the program terminated in anomalous gold, highlighting the possible proximity to basement gold mineralisation and the necessity for further basement drill testing.
Latest updates and further work
Musgrave said that at its 100% tenements, the aircore drilling program testing 25 regional and Starlight analogue targets is continuing. The company said that the follow-up drilling at high priority regional targets including White Heat, and targets 5, 9, 14, 15, 20, and 21 has commenced. MGV said that further assays are pending in December.
The company said that further drilling to test possible new lodes 100m to the south of White Light (4m @ 3.3g/t Au and 3m @ 3.4g/t Au) identified in hole 20MORC105 in September 2020 has been completed and assays are pending.
MGV reported that the regional aircore drilling of new structural and geochemical targets at Mainland is now complete and assays are pending. The company said that the baseline environmental and broader heritage surveys at Break of Day and Lena have commenced in preparation for further development studies.
Musgrave said that at the Evolution JV, the Phase 2 aircore drilling program testing high-priority gold targets on Lake Austin is now complete with assays expected through to late January 2021. MGV said that the compilation of full results is expected to happen in the new year to rank and prioritise targets in what is developing as a large mineral system.
The company said that the diamond drilling to follow-up extensive regolith gold anomalies is scheduled to commence in late February 2021.
The company said that a range of exploration techniques will be considered to progress exploration including additional drilling.
Management comments
Musgrave Managing Director Rob Waugh said: “This large regional scout drilling program as part of the Evolution JV, has generated some excellent regolith gold results and has significantly extended the gold anomaly around the Lake Austin North target highlighting the potential of the area to host significant basement gold mineralisation. Musgrave’s regional drilling program on its 100% owned tenements is near completion and has also defined multiple targets for priority basement follow-up drilling in the new year.”