Westward Gold (CSE:WG) has outlined plans for approximately 6,000m of drilling at the El Segundo target within its Toiyabe Hills property in Nevada, US.
The company has permitted eight drill pads for a combination of reverse circulation (RC) and core drilling, with construction of the remaining eastern pads nearing completion.
Core hole ES2601 is at a depth of 145m and is designed to extend beyond 600m, subject to ongoing core analysis. The hole targets a gravity-interpreted alteration zone in lower-plate carbonate rocks.
Westward says it expects a second RC rig to arrive within weeks.
El Segundo lies in the footwall of the Hilltop structural corridor, 4km south-southeast of the SSD target and 3km south of Campfire. Westward says it controls 13km of strike along the corridor.
Surface sampling has returned up to 1.6 grams per tonne gold and 589 parts per million antimony, coinciding with elevated arsenic identified through soil sampling.
Gravity, airborne magnetic, and controlled-source audio-frequency magnetotelluric (CSAMT) surveys have also identified areas the company interprets as alteration within lower-plate carbonate rocks.
A 10-line-kilometre CSAMT survey completed in May identified high-angle structures, lithological contacts, and several high-resistivity zones. Westward interprets these zones as potential silica, argillic, or jasperoid alteration, although drilling is required to determine their composition.
The company notes the campaign will test for disseminated Carlin-style gold within favourable subunits of the Wenban Formation, as well as higher-grade mineralisation along dike margins and fault corridors. Holes are also designed to test the underlying Roberts Mountains Formation.
VP Exploration Robert Edie says drilling follows two years of data collection and interpretation.
“One of the advantages of drilling in this area is that most of the drill holes will collar in lower-plate carbonate rocks, allowing for a more efficient test of regional host strata,” Edie says.
Westward is continuing geological mapping and surface sampling across Toiyabe Hills, with 476 of 744 planned soil samples collected and more than 100 rock-chip samples submitted for assays.
Write to France Pinzon at Mining.com.au
Images: Westward Gold
