TechGen Metals (ASX:TG1) has confirmed a gold discovery at the John Bull Gold Project, New South Wales, where a maiden reverse circulation (RC) drilling program of 7 holes for 887m was recently completed.
The drilling program was the first drilling ever to be completed within the project area, located within the New England Orogen in northern New South Wales.
TechGen reports that all 7 drillholes have returned intercepts of greater than 1 g/t Au with hole JBRC006 returning intersections of 66m @ 1.14 g/t & 17m @ 1.08 g/t Au.
Commenting on the results, TechGen Managing Director Ashley Hood stated: “A new gold discovery from surface has been confirmed by assay results from the maiden drilling program at the John Bull Gold Project.”
This is exactly what we hoped for, another exceptionally broad zone of mineralisation with higher grade intercepts. This amazing asset now has serious upside! Mineralisation is open in all directions and given the scale of the 1940s sluicing and the shafts from the mid-1880s spread across hundreds of metres, John Bull could turn into a beast.
“This amazing asset now has serious upside”
New exploration stages are already being implemented.”
Drill sites for the maiden RC drilling campaign were designed along a single east – west drill line to test the quartz mineralisation in the historic John Bull gold shafts (1880s), the main gold sluiced area (1940s), the historic surface trench (1980s by Kennecott Exploration (Australia) and Southern Goldfields Ltd) that contained an untested mineralised interval of 160m @ 1.2 g/t Au and the Induced Polarisation (IP) chargeability high located beneath the historic surface trench.
Assay results from all drill holes have now been received and have returned a number of ‘exceptionally’ broad gold intersections including 68m @ 1.0 g/t Au from surface (hole JBRC001), 11m @ 1.07 g/t Au from 34m (hole JBRC004), 7m @ 1.65 g/t Au from 12m & 13m @ 1.02 g/t Au from 57m & 23m @ 1.10 g/t Au from 95m (hole JBRC005), 94m @ 0.95 g/t Au from 4m including 66m @ 1.14 & 17m @ 1.08 g/t Au from 109m (hole JBRC006).
Zones of higher grade gold mineralisation occur within the broader mineralised zones including 23m @ 2.02g/t Au from 39m downhole in hole JBRC001.
Gold mineralisation is associated with stacked quartz veining within a sequence of fine to medium grained carbonaceous sedimentary rocks (shale -siltstone – sandstone). Gold mineralisation remains open downdip to the east and along strike to both the north and south.
The company reports that further exploration activities are now being planned to assess the size potential of the mineralised system discovered at John Bull and to explore the remainder of the project area which has been subjected to only minimal historic exploration.
The maiden drilling program was completed along a single approximately east-west oriented drill line and thus significant along strike potential, to both the north and south, is considered to exist within the project area.
Gold mineralisation intersected in drilling also remains open at depth to the east.
Write to Adam Orlando at Mining.com.au
Images: TechGen Metals Ltd
