Kingston Resources Limited (ASX: KSN) has announced the discovery of a significant new zone of high-grade shallow gold mineralisation at the Abi Prospect in the Quartz Mountain area at its flagship Misima Gold Project in PNG.
Significant new results from diamond hole GDD044 include 23.6m @ 2.91g/t Au from 7.4m, including 13.5m @ 4.60g//t Au from 17.5m.
The company reported that surface gold and silver assays across a wide area have identified multiple potentially mineralised structures.
Some of the significant rock chip samples include 7.99g/t Au, 21.4g/t Ag; 7.03g/t Au, 14.2g/t Ag; and 6.07g/t Au, 165g/t Ag. Significant channel sample assays include 1.0m @ 30.4g/t Au, 6.2g/t Ag; 1.2m @ 19.7g/t Au, 4.6g/t Ag; and 2.8m @ 6.17g/t Au, 3.1g/t Ag.
Kingston announced that a second drill rig is mobilising to Misima.
Misima project
The Misima project is located 625km east of Port Moresby in the Solomon Sea. KSN owns 70% of Misima. The JV Partner, PPC, is owned by JX Nippon Metals and Mining (66%), and Mitsui Mining and Smelting (34%).
The Misima Gold Project is an advanced exploration asset with significant scale. The Misima project has a mineral resource estimate of 82.3Mt (45% Indicated, 55% Inferred) @ 1.1g/t Au, 5.3g/t Ag for 2.8Moz Au and 13.9Moz Ag.
The project hosts a number of exploration targets including Umuna Extensions, Misima North, Umuna East Side, Quartz Mountain, and Ginamwamwa.
Quartz Mountain area contains the historical Ewatinona, Kobel, and Maika pits. Kingston had completed an initial 12-hole drilling program at Ewatinona in July 2019, which delivered a series of highly encouraging assay results.
Drilling at Quartz Mountain, Misima
The company currently has an ongoing exploration program within the Quartz Mountain region. This program is aimed at delineating high-grade surface mineralisation with the potential to contribute early ounces to the Company’s mining studies.
The company reported that the drilling has continued stepping out to the south-east along the interpreted mineralised trends, with six drill holes completed to date, GDD041, GDD043, GDD044, GDD045, GDD046, and GDD047.
KSN said that the drill holes were orientated to intersect structures and mineralised trends recorded during surface mapping and sampling, and anomalous gold intersections in Reverse Circulation holes by Placer.
Kingston said that the drill holes GDD041 and GDD043 were collared on the margin of the interpreted target corridor, testing below anomalous trench geochemistry from Placer and surface artisanal workings. Meanwhile, drill hole GDD044 was collared below anomalous intercepts in Placer holes drilled from the tops of ridge lines.
The company reported that drill holes GDD045 to 047 have been completed and samples submitted for analysis.
High-grade results
Kingston reported that the holes GDD041 and GDD043, intersected narrow zones of crackle breccia and narrow veins with yellow sphalerite + galena base metals and quartz-carbonate in-fill.
Highlights from GDD044 include 23.6m @ 2.91g/t Au from 7.4m, including 13.5m @ 4.60g/t Au from 17.5m and including 4.3m @ 11.58g/t Au from 19.1m; and 1.8m @ 1.31g/t Au from 60.5m
The company said that drill hole GDD044 also intersected disseminated base metal sulphide and vein mineralisation within a breccia zone that outcrops in the face of the drill pad and represents a new zone of mineralisation from surface.
Surface exploration at Quartz Mountain
Kingston announced that it has expanded surface exploration for Umuna- and Ewatinona-style gold-silver mineralisation at Quartz Mountain to a broader region framed by the Ewatinona, Kobel, and Maika pits, and the historical Placer processing plant location.
There were seven target zones defining multiple potential parallel mineralised trends highlighted.
The company said that rock chip and channel samples returned significant gold and silver assays in structures in outcrop.
Highlights from rock chip surface sampling include 7.99g/t Au, 21.4g/t Ag; 4.31g/t Au, 10.5g/t Ag; 7.03g/t Au, 14.2g/t Ag; 9.97g/t Au, 5.2g/t Ag; 7.97g/t Au, 5.2g/t Ag; 5.05g/t Au, 11g/t Ag; and 6.07g/t Au, 165g/t Ag.
Kingston reported that the hand trenches excavated across outcrops and outcrop trends highlighted by rock chip sampling confirm the tenor of gold mineralisation with multiple high-grade intersections.
Highlights from channel sampling include 1.0 metre @ 30.4g/t Au, 6.2g/t Ag; 1.2 metre @ 19.7g/t Au, 4.6g/t Ag; 2.0 metres @ 33.5g/t Au, 11.8g/t Ag; 12 metres @ 8.08g/t Au, 3.87g/t Ag; 3 metres @ 6.97g/t Au, 6.6g/t Ag; and 2.8 metres @ 6.17g/t Au, 3.1g/t Ag.
The company reported that the results combined with geological mapping indicate the presence of multiple mineralised structures that have not been fully tested by historical drilling and remain a focus of ongoing exploration.
Updates and next steps
Kingston said that exploration drilling is planned to continue for the remainder of 2019 and into 2020. Further work will involve structural mapping and interpretation, channel sampling orthogonal to mineralised structures, and drilling.
Management comments
Kingston Resources Limited Managing Director, Andrew Corbett said: “This is a significant development for our ongoing exploration program in the Quartz Mountain region, where we are specifically targeting additional zones of Ewatinona-style mineralisation that could increase the existing Resource and provide easily accessible, low-cost ounces in the early stages of a future mining operation at Misima.
The pedigree of this area is highlighted by the successful open pits mined by Placer at Ewatinona, Kobel and Maika. A combination of diamond drilling and surface exploration has now confirmed the location and tenor of mineralisation at Abi, demonstrating strong upside potential to the existing Resource.
With the initial round of drilling on targets within the Quartz Mountain area now complete, the diamond drill rig is currently drilling near-surface oxide targets at Umuna East Side before moving to Misima North. Following interpretation of these latest Abi results, we then expect to mobilise a rig back to Quartz Mountain to conduct additional in-fill and extension drilling to underpin an updated Mineral Resource estimate.
With a second diamond rig expected to start operating next month, we may have the opportunity to accelerate this drilling program, providing shareholders with a strong flow of news from Misima in the months ahead.”
