Vango Mining Limited (ASX: VAN) has announced a highly encouraging update from the first drillhole at the Albatross‐Flamingo target within its Marymia gold project in Western Australia.
The company reported new bonanza gold intersections from the first drillhole (VAFRC0001) in the 11 hole drill program below the Albatross‐ Flamingo historical open pits.
Highlights include 4m @ 50.6 g/t Au from 81m including 2m @ 99.1 g/t Au including 1m @ 182 g/t Au; and 3m @ 38.0 g/t Au from 97m including 2m @ 56.1 g/t Au including 1m @ 100.9 g/t Au, within a wider combined zone of 19m @ 16.8 g/t Au from 81m.
Vango noted that these exceptional gold intersections at relatively shallow depth are a strong indicator of the open‐pit potential at Albatross‐Flamingo and will be assessed in the company’s ongoing mine planning.
The company said that the bonanza gold grades form part of the greater “Vulcan” target that continues from Triple‐P to the Exocet pit and represents a >3km strike length that is largely untested at depth.
Vango reported that the results from the remaining 10 holes recently completed at Albatross‐Flamingo are pending and will be reported in due course.
Marymia project
Vango Mining’s 100%‐owned Marymia Gold Project is located 300km northeast of Meekatharra in the Mid‐West region of Western Australia.
Drilling at Marymia
The company had recently commenced drilling at the Albatross-Flamingo target within the Marymia project.
Vango reported that 11 wide-spaced, reverse circulation (RC) drill holes for 1852 metres were recently completed below the Albatross and Flamingo historical open‐pits.
Exceptional gold intersections from VAFRC0001
The company has now reported bonanza gold intersections from the first wide-spaced RC drill hole, VAFRC0001.
Significant intercepts include 4m @ 50.6 g/t Au from 81m including 2m @ 99.1 g/t Au including 1m @ 182 g/t Au; 3m @ 38.0 g/t Au from 97m including 2m @ 56.1 g/t Au including 1m @ 100.9 g/t Au within a wider combined zone (with internal waste) of 19m @ 16.8 g/t Au from 81m; and 12m @ 2.46 g/t Au from 56m including 4m @ 4.62 g/t Au.
VAN said that these results are highest gold grades reported to date.
Indicator of open‐pit potential
The company reported that the exceptionally high‐grade nature of these results, at relatively shallow depths, provides a strong indicator of the open‐pit potential of Albatross‐Flamingo.
It may be noted that the ability to mine via open‐pit has the potential to deliver substantial cost savings relative to an underground operation in any potential future gold mining operation at Albatross‐Flamingo.
Vulcan target
Vango reported that the exceptionally high‐grade intersections in VAFRC0001 are associated with quartz‐sulphide mineralisation in thrusted mafic rocks, close to the contact with the overlying sedimentary rocks that host the bulk of the gold mineralisation previously mined in the shallow Albatross and Flamingo open pits above.
The company expressed confidence that these mafic host rocks may be a repeat of the thrusted Mine‐Mafics that host the Triple‐P and Zone‐B high‐grade gold mineralisation 1km to the north‐east.
They are interpreted to have been periodically thrusted to a shallower position by steeply dipping and mineralised fault structures across a >3km zone from Triple‐P to the Exocet pit.
The company has referred to this wider target zone as Vulcan. It has similar dimensions (>3km x >1km) to the Plutonic gold deposit located immediately south of the Marymia Project, which has produced more than 5.5Moz of gold.
Drill results from Triple‐P, Zone‐B target
Vango announced that results were also received for 12 holes for 2,798m that tested for extensions to the Triple‐P, Zone‐B underground target.
This is both down‐dip and along strike to the north of previous results that included 4m @ 9.48 g/t Au from 177m including 1m @ 25.0 g/t Au in VPPPRC0005
The company reported that a number of lower grade intersections were produced during this programme, and have defined the potential underground resource target at Triple‐P, Zone‐B to a 200m strike length and 60m down dip zone.
Significant intersections include 1m @ 3.67 g/t Au from 156m (hole VPPPRC0012); 3m @ 2.16 g/t Au from 189m including 2m @ 2.75 g/t Au from 189m (hole VPPPRC0023); 1m @ 3.56 g/t Au from 110m; and 1m @ 2.31 g/t Au from 175m (hole VPPPRC0017).
What’s next?
The company said that the planning of further drilling to extend and define the high-grade Mine-Mafic hosted mineralisation and potentially link Albatross – Flamingo to Triple-P will be summarized in future reports prior to initiation.
The company said that Vulcan will be a priority drilling target for Vango in 2020.