Source : THE AGE NEWS
By Doug Bright
King River Resources has acquired a new exploration licence, which encloses its Kurundi gold prospect in the Northern Territory and includes possible north-westward extensions from the Kurundi targets.
The company has also just completed a 13-hole, 940-metre drill program targeting extensions to two high-grade gold zones and a new mineralised structure 250m northeast of Kurundi, from which it is awaiting results.
King River Resources will soon begin drilling its two, priority buried Kuiper geophysical targets, which could represent iron oxide copper gold deposits (IOCG) in its suite of mineral licences near the historic NT mining centre of Tennant Creek. Tennant Creek is well-known for the IOCG style.
King River has signed the transfer documents for the land acquisition from Woodleigh Nominees, which will be processed by the NT Titles Department in the coming weeks.
The new ground embraces a good chunk of the southeastern end of the Kurundi Dome, which hosts the Priesters prospect, the historic Power of Wealth gold mine and its associated mineralised trend.
Priesters is 1.6 kilometres beyond the northwestern corner of King River’s new licence area. Power of Wealth is 4.4km west of Priesters, less than 2km outside King River’s tenure.
Priesters has previously reported high-grade rock chip samples with gold grades including 49.5 grams per tonne (g/t), 12.97g/t and 8.47g/t. The hits were picked up 12km northwest of King River’s Kurundi workings.
King River says nuggety gold found between the Kurundi licence, the northern boundary of its new ground and potentially across the boundary towards the Priesters/Power of Wealth duo encourages its confidence in the prospectivity of the northwestern extremity of its new tenement.
Potential drill targets in the area include the likely northwest strike extension of the Kurundi vein system and shear zone, from which the company has been picking up high-grade gold in a series of drilling campaigns.
Meanwhile, King River’s latest 940m drilling campaign holes has targetted extensions to two high-grade gold zones at Kurundi’s main zone and a new mineralised structure 250m northeast of Kurundi.
This latest work saw King River put in five holes beneath the main zone to follow up a deeper drilling program last year, which intersected gold mineralisation, strong structures and veining.
Results from that 2024 program, reported in February, featured two tantalising intercepts in the main zone, including 11m assaying 0.69 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from 69m, including 1m going 3.39g/t gold from 73m and also 1m at 2.54g/t gold from 78m.
A second hole nailed 7m running 5.8g/t gold from 32m, including 3m at a respectable 11.9g/t gold from 33m, with 1m going a handsome 26g/t gold from 35m. The hits confirm an interpreted southward plunge to previously drilled high-grade mineralisation in the main zone.
The company’s latest drill program included four holes to probe a southern high-grade target to follow up last year’s definition of a high-grade zone exhibiting alteration, shearing and massive sulphides. One of the four holes intercepted 9m assaying 1.62g/t gold, including 1m going 12.75g/t gold.
A further four holes tested the company’s newly discovered KE structure, 250m northeast of the main zone. KE carries traces of gold, copper and silver associated with historical underground workings that show strong veining and alteration in their upper levels.
In addition to three phases of drilling at its Kurundi Main target, King River has so far completed programs at its Tennant Creek ground, including its Providence, Langrenus, Commitment, and its Kurundi Regional targets.
Next off the rank, the company plans to drill its priority untested Kuiper 1 and Kuiper 2 iron oxide-copper-gold (IOCG) geophysical targets, which are significant coincident magnetic and gravity anomalies identified two years ago.
The targets lie within interpreted Warramunga Formation-equivalent rocks under shallow Cambrian cover. The formation is part of the Warramunga Province and the Tennant Creek Mineral Field and is known for its mineral deposits.
Among these deposits is the famed White Devil IOCG deposit, which historically produced more than 760,000 ounces of gold from 1.6 million tonnes of ore at a recovered grade of 14.6 g/t gold.
ASX-listed Emmerson Resources is currently conducting an exploration and drilling program at White Devil and last month reported a mineral resource estimate of 4.6Mt at 4.2 g/t gold for 611,400 ounces of contained gold.
The mine has a gold-bismuth-copper signature and is hosted within ironstones, which is characteristic of the IOCG-style mineralisation for which the broader Tennant Creek district is known. The prospectivity of the area’s IOCG-style of mineralisation lends considerable merit to King River’s drilling plans for the two Kuiper targets.
King River also expects to generate additional drill targets across its Territory tenements as its evaluation of its geophysical results and last year’s drilling assays advances.
It has already completed high-sensitivity ionic-leach soil sampling at Kuiper 1 and 2 and is awaiting the analytical results. The method is designed to tease out buried targets that might be lost to more conventional geochemical methods.
The company is also working through the best of its priority geophysical targets to help prioritise and better target its next drill holes.
Management is also running keen eyes over other targets, including those at Rover East, Pioneer, a strong magnetic anomaly in EL31623 and magnetic/electromagnetic geophysical areas at its Barkly prospect.
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