ALLIED Gold has announced a “spectacular” gold intercept from recent drilling at the Pigiput Ridge deposit on Simberi Island, off PNG.
Allied Gold drilling at Simberi Island
Perth-based Allied said in a statement that drilling targeting oxide mineralisation at the prospect had intersected a 16m zone grading at 15.12 grams per tonne gold from 15m.
“This hole was one of 11 reverse circulation holes drilled, which targeted a gold in soil anomaly that was identified in 2007,” Allied said.
The new zone lies around 250m northeast of the Pigiput oxide plant.
Assay results from a second drillhole intersected a 3m zone grading 8.6gpt gold from 43m, including 1m at 15.25gpt gold.
Allied says results from the remaining drillholes are pending.
Additionally, drilling is being carried out to the north of the oxide plant with infill and extensional drillholes targeting deeper sulphide mineralisation.
Previous drilling has defined an inferred resource of 1.26 million tonnes at 10.4gpt gold for around 420,000oz of gold.
Allied said this drilling phase involved installing reverse circulation pre-collars followed up with deeper diamond cored tails.
To date, results from seven drillhole pre-collars have been received and these have all intersected shallow gold mineralisation in oxides with a best result being 25m at 3.89gpt gold from 48m.
“These new drill results increase Allied Gold management’s confidence of achieving their short-term goal of identifying sufficient additional oxide and sulphide resources to underpin an expansion of gold production at the Simberi project from the current average rate of 84,000 ounces to in excess of 120,000 ounces per annum,” the company said.
Pigiput Ridge lies mid-way between the Samat deposits and the Sorowar deposit. Oxides at Pigiput Ridge are included in the current mine plan and contain proven and probable reserves of 366 kilotonnes at 1.31gpt gold and 165kt at 1.29gpt gold respectively.
Optimisation study work completed in May last year by Golder Associates concluded there was potential for an economic and relatively large-scale combined oxide and sulphide openpit operation at Pigiput.
Golder Associates designed and recommended the current drill program to improve confidence levels of the resource, and determine geotechnical and metallurgical characteristics of the sulphide mineralisation.
Shares in Allied were trading at 63.5c, up 2.5c.
ALD Price at posting:
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