Everest Metals’ (ASX: EMC) bulk sampling and blast hole drilling program has turned up a bevy of super-high-grade samples at its Revere project near Meekatharra, including one sample going as high as 85.1 grams per tonne gold. The bulk samples, when combined with some historical RC drilling, point to a mineralised zone of at least 90m in width and 230m of strike that adds to the 700m of strike already discovered. The mineralisation appears to start close to surface and extend down to at least 130m depth.
Other high-grade assay results from the bulk sampling include 43.4g/t, 30.5g/t and 15.6g/t gold, all within 9m of surface which the company says should lead to a low strip ratio for any future mining operation. Only 10 per cent of the current 7km reef system has been drilled to date and the company is looking to see if a planned 5500m drill program can uncover more significant results that will lead to a maiden resource at Revere.
The 171 square kilometre Revere project is situated in the historical Murchison mining area 90km northeast of Meekatharra. Along strike and 55km to the southeast sits Sandfire’s company maker, DeGrussa and the Monty copper-gold mine. Another 40km to the southwest is the Andy Well gold mine that produced at 9g/t gold during its life.
So far 2090 samples have been sent to ALS laboratory in Perth which has used a high energy, x-ray technology to assay the samples. The company believes this assay technique is highly effective for the analysis of large sample sizes with high-nugget, coarse gold mineralisation.
We are planning an acceleration of our current exploration program to determine the limits of this system through another 5500m of drilling aligned with our ongoing bulk sampling and processing campaigns. There is no doubt in the near term not only we will expand the current limits of our exploration footprint but also, we will deliver a maiden resource at Revere.
Everest Metals Executive Chairman Mark Caruso
Everest’s exploration work will bulk sample 36,000 tonnes at Revere, focusing on a 700m strike length with the goal of processing the sample stockpile into a gold concentrate to take advantage of current record-high gold prices. Following the completion of site works, a 10-tonne per-hour gravity Gekko gold processing plant will be transported to site to begin processing the first 8000 tonnes of stockpile.
The Revere reef golf saddle system is a significant mineralised system consisting of numerous stacked folded quartz and saddle reefs along an anticlinal axis with similar geological formations occurring in the prolific Bendigo Goldfields. Further exploration and sampling will reveal the extent of gold distribution along the anticlinal axis and bedding planes.
Big advantages of the reef system discovery is the near surface, free milling coarse gold which will reduce the strip ratio in a mining operation and eliminate the need for chemical leaching to liberate the minerals. 92-98 per cent of the gold discovered so far is nuggety and coarse which allows for a simple recovery through a low-cost gravity processing circuit.
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