Toro Energy Limited (ASX: TOE) has announced a highly encouraging update on its first-pass aircore exploration drilling for gold on Yandal Gold Project in Western Australia.
The company reported that an unbroken 500m wide, 1.7km long ‘Shadow Rock’ gold anomaly has been uncovered in top of basement rock. The anomaly is associated with a regional NE trending structure that cross-cuts the central part of the entire Project.
Toro noted that the new gold anomaly and zone of interest is the second major zone of sulphide bearing hydrothermal alteration identified along the regional structure, the other being the Maze.
The company said that together, these two new target areas confirm that the major NE trending regional scale structure that transects the Yandal Gold Project, has been subject to intense sulphide bearing hydrothermal fluids carrying gold which in turn confirms the prospectivity of Toro’s Yandal Gold Project for gold exploration.
Toro reported that it is currently planning the next stage of exploration.
Yandal gold project
Toro’s 100%-owned Yandal Gold Project is located within the world class gold district, the Yandal Greenstone Belt, only 10 to 30km NE of the multi-million ounce Bronzewing Gold Mine.
The project comprises over 143 km2 of contiguous and untested ground.
The Yandal belt has so far produced >14Moz of gold from three well known operations, Jundee – Nimary, Bronzewing, and Darlot.
The company had recently commenced first-pass aircore exploration drilling at the Yandal Gold Project. A total of 269 holes were drilled for 19,926.5m.
Maze target at Yandal
Toro’s first-pass aircore drilling had identified a four square kilometre zone at the NE end of the main structure called ‘Maze’.
The Maze target area is situated along and adjacent to the NE end of the regional structure within Yandal Gold Project tenure, some 7.5km south of the Christmas Gold Prospect and November Rain and Area 12 target areas.
New gold anomaly and target area uncovered
Toro reported that the final phases of the recently completed first-pass aircore drilling program has uncovered a new gold anomaly and target area called Shadow Rock.
This is the second major zone of sulphide bearing hydrothermal alteration identified after Maze.
The new gold anomaly is located 11.7km to the south of Christmas and November Rain, but only 2.5km SW of the Maze and related to the same regional NE trending structure.
The company said that the anomaly is associated with a regional NE trending structure that cross-cuts the central part of the entire Project and is accompanied by an extensive zone of hydrothermal alteration.
The company said that there are strong indications that the gold is related to hydrothermal activity often related to gold deposits with pyrite, illite-sericite and potassic/hematite alteration being abundant within the anomaly and target area.
TOE said that the anomaly is represented by 15 drill holes and peak gold concentration is 0.08 g/t over 3m from 60m depth at the southern open end of the anomaly.
Toro noted that the sulphide alteration stretches along the main structure for some 1.5km with sulphur (S) concentrations reaching as high as 2.3% (by weight). Corresponding with the higher concentration of sulphides, the illite-sericite alteration zone is some 300m wide and 900m long.
TOE said that the potassic/hematite alteration stretches for at least 2.2km along the main structure, beyond the area of enriched gold and into minor but related proximal structures.
The prospective Shadow Rock
Toro reported that it considers Shadow Rock to be highly prospective for gold mineralisation at depth. Adding to its prospectivity is its location in favourable geology and its association with strong hydrothermal alteration often associated with ore deposits as well as a definitive gold pathfinder enrichment in Bismuth (Bi).
Toro said that when also considering the gold anomalies, sulphide mineralisation, and hydrothermal alteration uncovered along the same structure to the NE at the Maze, it is confirmation that the entire regional structure has probably been a conduit for hydrothermal fluids carrying gold.
It may be noted that this major regional structure is a main artery to Toro’s interpreted Bronzewing Structural Corridor.
Yandal prospective for gold exploration
Toro announced that the results of drilling at the Maze and Shadow Rock indicate that any part of the Yandal Gold Project which has been subject to the same structural dynamics as Bronzewing or any of the other gold deposits in the district, is prospective for economic gold mineralisation.
Toro reported that it is now in the process of planning for the next phase of exploration on its Yandal Gold Project.
