Bardoc Gold assays of up 166 g/t gold confirm Zoroastrian extensions at depth
“This important drilling program has not only increased our confidence in the Zoroastrian South Lode – paving the way to upgrade inferred ounces to the higher-confidence indicated category – it has also vindicated our belief that Zoroastrian is capable of delivering additional high-grade ounces over the longer term,” says executive director.
Bardoc Gold Ltd (ASX:BDC) has confirmed extensions to gold systems at depth within the 530,000-ounce Zoroastrian deposit of its namesake Bardoc Gold Project in Western Australia's Eastern Goldfields through high-grade assays from infill and extensional drilling.
The diamond drilling program was targeting depth extensions and infill resource drilling for the multi-lode mineral system at the cornerstone deposit and assays of note include:
- 7.22 metres at 3.45 g/t gold from 214.9 metres including 2.43 metres at 7.58 g/t from 219.69 metres and 1-metre at 33.52 g/t including 0.2 metres at 166 g/t;
- 9.62 metres at 5.13 g/t from 199.46 metres;
- 4.2 metres at 6.08 g/t from 279.25 metres;
- 3.4 metres at 7.11 g/t from 152.5 metres; and
- 11.6 metres at 3.13 g/t from 411.4 metres including 7.24 metres at 3.99 g/t from 415.11 metres.
Exetnsional drilling intercepted gold mineralisation, including defining the Bank of England Lode at depth, while infill drilling further delineated the known main lodes within the current resource and reserves. Current ore reserves constitute 1 million ounces within a total resource of 3.07 million ounces.
“Huge upside" across project
“This important drilling program has not only increased our confidence in the Zoroastrian South Lode – paving the way to upgrade inferred ounces to the higher-confidence indicated category – it has also vindicated our belief that Zoroastrian is capable of delivering additional high-grade ounces over the longer term,” Bardoc Gold executive director Neil Biddle said.
“Opportunities to work on close-spaced, multi-lode deposits such as Zoroastrian are hard to find in today’s investment climate – and the Blueys South, Zoroastrian South and Bank of England lodes are essentially unmined, providing significant long-term upside over the life of mine.
“It is quite likely that the Bank of England Lode will be similar in both grade and width to the Blueys South and Zoroastrian South Lodes once we have an opportunity to further test the lode position within the fractionated dolerite.
“These are important results which reinforce the huge upside that we see across the Bardoc Gold Project.”
This recent round of drilling targeted resources categorised as inferred with the aim to upgrade to the indicated classification and allow inclusion in future ore reserves after a mineral resource estimate and mining study are complete.
Bardoc says the high-grade results at depth confirm significant exploration upside at the Zoroastrian Deposit, demonstrating the multi-load system extends well below the current mineral resource boundaries.
Of particular note are the extensions to the Bank of England footwall lode at depth, which are not currently included in the underground resources.
The current ore reserve at Zoroastrian is 98,000 ounces gold, based on mining only three of multiple loads present. The total mineral resource at the Zoroastrian deposit is currently 7.5 million tonnes at 2.2 g/t for 530,000 ounces.
Results from the drilling, which included infill drilling to improve resource confidence, will be used to update the Zoroastrian deposit’s mineral resource estimate.
Next steps
- Strategic review of the Bardoc Gold Project and engagement with potential strategic parties is ongoing;
- Annual General Meeting scheduled for November 30, 2021, accessible online; and
- Update Zoroastrian geology and exploration model.
