Source : THE AGE NEWS
Accelerate Resources has hit paydirt in maiden reverse circulation (RC) drilling at its Spencers gold discovery near Kalgoorlie, WA, returning a stunning 11-metre intercept grading 4.65 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from just 25 metres. The impressive hit included a one-metre section at a bonanza-grade 46.93g/t gold.
Accelerate’s first-pass, nine-hole RC program totalling 1086m at Spencer’s, part of its broader Balagundi project just 15km east of the goldfields capital, was designed to test basement targets beneath a shallow discovery made by aircore drilling in May.
Impressively, all nine holes of the new campaign intersected gold mineralisation, confirming a broad, mineralised system extending over 300m of strike that remains open to the north, south and at depth.
The program followed up on aircore results announced in May that included a 28m hit going 1.01g/t gold. The latest RC results appear to have successfully converted that shallow potential into a solid basement target.
“We believe we are close to unlocking the code on this exciting gold project.′
Accelerate Resources chief executive officer Luke Meter
Other significant RC intercepts from the program included 11m at 0.90g/t gold from 73m, 14m at 0.45g/t gold from 94m and 11m at 0.92g/t gold from 110m. Another hole returned two separate mineralised zones, with 9m at 0.79g/t gold from 14m and a deeper 2-metre hit grading 3.23g/t gold from 116m.
The company says, the better gold grades are found within wide intervals of quartz veining along a mappable contact between dolerite and sediment. This has provided a clear geological control that can be traced and targeted for follow-up work.
Notably, the headline-grabbing 46.93g/t gold intercept was picked up at a very shallow depth in highly weathered rock. Accelerate says this points to typically cheaper-to-mine, near-surface oxide gold, a key plank of its strategy to prove up resources that could be trucked to one of the many nearby toll-treatment facilities.
The discovery lies entirely within a granted and wholly owned mining lease, providing a secure pathway for the company should it delineate a commercial resource.
Accelerate Resources chief executive officer Luke Meter said: These results convert the shallow aircore discovery at Spencers into a clear RC-defined gold target. The standout 11 metres at 4.65 grams per tonne gold from just 25 metres demonstrates that Spencers can host high grades over significant widths close to surface. Importantly, the high-grade sits within a broader mineralised zone associated with quartz veining and alteration along a geological contact we can map and follow.”
The project’s proximity to Kalgoorlie cannot be overstated. The region is one of the world’s great gold provinces, home to Northern Star’s giant “Super Pit”and a plethora of processing plants. With the Australian dollar gold price hovering around A$6500 an ounce, any new, easily accessible ore source is likely to attract attention.
With planning and permitting for the next drill program already underway, Accelerate looks set to prioritise the Spencers discovery. The company plans to extend the mineralised zone along strike, test the dolerite-sediment contact down-dip and conduct infill drilling around the latest high-grade hit to assess its continuity.
Elsewhere, the company’s Woodie Woodie North manganese project in the Pilbara is starting to hint at a large-scale system, elevating the junior into the class of both critical minerals and precious metals players.
The Woodie Woodie North project is strategically positioned in one of Australia’s rarest manganese provinces. Sitting just 55 kilometres north of Consolidated Minerals’ operating high-grade Woodie Woodie mine, the company believes its grounds may lie on a significant extension to the same mineralised system that made its neighbour a globally significant producer.
The company’s manganese hotspot covers a substantial 432-square-kilometres of highly prospective ground, incorporating seven mapped, large-scale manganese corridors that stretch over a combined 42km of strike. It’s a district-scale footprint and the early-stage work appears to be lighting up district-scale potential.
Rock chip sampling from the newly defined Rancor and Wampa prospects has returned grades as high as 58.4 per cent manganese, with a slew of other impressive hits including 57.6 per cent and 55.6 per cent. For context Australia’s other operating mines generally run grades at around 40 per cent manganese.
Accelerate appears to be moving at speed at Balagundi. With Spencers emerging as a clear geological, high-priority target on a granted mining lease just a stone’s throw from Kalgoorlie, the key question now will be just how much gold might be lurking below in this emerging system.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au
