Venus Metals Corporation Limited (ASX: VMC) in conjunction with its JV partner Rox Resources Limited has announced highly encouraging results of air core drilling program at its Youanmi Gold Project in WA.
The company reported that high-grade gold mineralization was discovered during a Stage 2 AC drilling that followed up on anomalous gold identified during the initial AC drilling.
Significant results include 4m @ 7.02 g/t Au from 24m, and 5m @ 2.41 g/t Au from 60m to EOH (hole VRAC151) ; and 4m @ 0.94 g/t Au from 32m (VRAC161)
The company reported that the strong gold mineralization in deeply weathered mafic rocks in VRAC151 is open at depth and along strike. VMC said that it is located along a north-northwest trend close to the Youanmi Shear Zone and 5km north of the historical Penny West Gold Mine.
The company announced that immediate RC and further AC drilling will commence to confirm the extensions of the high-grade mineralization at depth and along strike.
Youanmi gold project
The Youanmi gold project is located 480km to the northeast of the city of Perth, Western Australia. The project straddles a 36km strike length of the Youanmi Greenstone Belt and lies north of the historical Penny West gold mine and the historical Magenta and Columbia gold prospects.
The principal deposits include Youanmi Main, Hill End, United North, Kathleen, Rebel, and Kurrajong6.
The total JORC 2012 Compliant Resource for the Youanmi Gold Mine is now estimated as ~1.2 Million Ounces of Gold.
Historical aeromagnetic data
VMC in conjunction with Rox Resources had previously reported historical aeromagnetic data showing a magnetic low within which the Penny West gold deposit and the Columbia-Magenta prospects are located.
This magnetic feature extends north into the VMC Joint Venture tenement (E57/1019) where it appears to diverge into two subparallel trends both of which present highly prospective settings for gold mineralization of the Penny West type.
An initial Air Core (AC) drilling was designed to explore for geochemical anomalies that may indicate the presence of Currans North and Penny West-style high-grade gold mineralization at depth.
Stage 2 AC drilling
The company had commenced a stage 2 AC drilling program at Youanmi. The recent AC program mainly targeted the western trend and followed up on gold anomalies broadly associated with anomalous base metals.
The AC drilling area is located on E57/1019 that is part of the VMC Joint Venture (VMC 50% and RXL earning 50% – gold rights only). The company said that a single AC traverse was drilled on M57/641 (Currans Joint Venture; VMC 45% and RXL).
Significant new gold mineralization in two holes
VMC said that the Stage 2 AC drilling program totalling 3,131m in 61 holes explored the strike extensions of the recently discovered gold – base metals anomalies and has discovered significant new gold mineralization in two holes, VRAC151 and VRAC161.
Hole VRAC151
The company reported that strong gold mineralization in VRAC151 occurs in two separate intervals with the upper one hosted in the clay zone (potentially, after a high-MgO rock), and the lower zone being associated with sheared mafic rock and vein quartz.
VMC noted that the AC hole was drilled to blade refusal (rock getting too hard for the AC method) and the hole ended in gold mineralization of 2m @ 3.08g/t Au.
High-grade intercepts
The highlights from the latest AC drilling include 4m @ 7.02 g/t Au from 24m, and 5m @ 2.41 g/t Au from 60m to EOH.
Venus Metals said that the high-grade gold intersections in hole VRAS151 represent the best gold zones encountered to date along the Youanmi Shear Zone south of the Youanmi Gold Mining area and north of the Penny West and Columbia-Magenta prospects.
Hole VRAC161
VRAC161 is located along a reconnaissance traverse c. 800m north of VRAC151. The company said that VRAC161 will be further explored using AC drilling.
Encouraging results
The significant results from VRAC161 include 4m @ 0.94 g/t Au from 32m and 4m @ 0.37 g/t Au from 44m.
Next steps
The company announced that follow-up AC drilling along strike of the reported gold-mineralized AC holes is planned.
VMC reported that RC drilling of specific gold targets is also being planned to investigate the bedrock for potential gold mineralization beneath the oxide zone.
Management comments
VMC’s Managing Director Matt Hogan said: “These significant air core drilling results, particularly in hole VRAC151, highlight the potential of the Youanmi Shear Zone to host significant gold mineralization that does not show at surface.
Our drilling may have identified a new corridor of gold mineralization interpreted to be associated with a north-northwest trending splay from the main shear and immediate follow-up RC drilling is planned “.
