- Grades of up to 86.8g/t gold have been intercepted at Burbanks below the current 465koz resource
- Latest results from Phase 2 drilling have extended mineralisation a further 60m beneath previously drilled areas
- Preparations for mining studies at the Burbanks Mining Centre underway
- Mt Thirsty scoping study nearing completion
New drilling at Burbanks is hitting bonanza grade gold 60m below the current 465koz resource, which bodes well for future resource increases and shows “the ability for the mineralising system to produce high-grade continuous gold zones”.
Greenstone Resources’ (ASX:GSR)Burbanks gold project is on a granted mining lease – important if you want to get into production quickly — 9km south of Coolgardie in WA.
Here, historical mining of the Birthday Gift and Main Lode underground mines totalled 444,600oz @ 22.7g/t down to about 140m.
The resource estimate which now totals 6.1Mt @ 2.4g/t gold for 465,567 ounces of contained gold, anincrease of over 68% Aufrom the previous update, reaffirming the existence of a large-scale gold system with a total gold endowment now exceeding 850,000oz in the upper ~300m.
With these latest results, the explorer believes there’s plenty more high-grade gold where that came from.
Going deeper at Burbanks
The Phase-2 drill campaign includes up to 15,000m of diamond and RC drilling, targeting down-dip and along-strike extensions to known high-grade gold lodes, in largely the upper 500 metres and adjacent to the existing resource.
The current segment of the campaign aimed to identify extensions to known ore lodes in the Burbanks North zone, which are outside of the latest MRE.
Multiple high-grade extensions have been discovered, extending mineralisation an additional 60m at depth, including:
- 55m @ 20.43g/t Au from 301m, including 0.35m @ 86.8g/t Au from 302.25m
- m @ 11.79g/t Au from 425m, including 0.45m @ 49.4g/t Au from 426.55m
Latest intercepts and extensions of mineralisation at Burbanks. Pic supplied: (GSR)
“These most recent results serve to reaffirm the high-grade nature of Burbanks, while also further proving the continuity of high-grade mineralisation at depth,” GSR MD Chris Hanen says.
“Importantly, this drilling in the Burbanks North area confirms the continuous presence of multiple parallel ore lodes which are observed throughout the project.
“With the majority the modelled ore zones remaining untested below 350m, the exploration horizon remains very much open for future drilling campaigns and future resource updates.”
Shifting focus
Building from the recently updated MRE, the GSR team is shifting its focus towards the necessary preparations for future mining studies at the Burbanks Mining Centre, Hansen says.
“This encompasses metallurgical test work, geotechnical studies, and structural modelling,” he says.
“These are critical components that will shape our efforts in establishing Burbanks as a sustainable long-term gold project.”
Mt Thirsty
Hansen says outside Burbanks, the Mt Thirsty scoping study is nearing the final stages of completion where the primary focus is on developing an economically robust, ethical, and sustainable battery metals project.
Mt Thirsty, a cobalt-nickel-manganese JV with Conico, has a resource of 66Mt @ 0.06% Co, 0.43% Ni and 0.45% Mn northwest of Norseman.
A scoping study is underway to fully understand the true potential of Mt Thirsty where large areas of the resource remains open at depth.
“The results of the Mt Thirsty Scoping Study will lay the groundwork for future studies and the potential consolidation of the joint-venture ownership structure into a single entity, which may then support a future IPO,” Hansen says.
(20min delay)