Amara Minerals (ASX:AM3) intersects high-grade gold at Apollo
Amara Minerals has released the initial assay result from its diamond drilling program at the 100% owned Apollo Gold and Antimony Project in central Victoria, where drilling is continuing within the Dig Fault Zone and further samples remain at the laboratory.
Highlights
AA2601 returned 57.5 m at 2.62 g/t Au from 139.5 m, including 20 m at 5.13 g/t Au from 139.5 m and 10 m at 8.04 g/t Au from 141.0 m.
The intersection is reported as a drilled width, with estimated true widths of approximately 20 m for the broad intercept and 7 m for the higher-grade core.
3 diamond holes have been completed at Apollo for a total of 862.5 m.
Assays for AA2602 and AA2603 are anticipated in mid to late September, subject to laboratory throughput.
AA2604 is in progress, while a further 3 holes totalling approximately 2,000 m are planned to test the Dig Fault Zone below the currently drilled levels.
The initial 3 holes targeted the upper Dig Fault Zone, with the objective of potentially extending and increasing the higher-grade core of the mineralisation.
The results are intended to support geological modelling and the evaluation of a potential maiden Mineral Resource Estimate for Apollo.
AA2601 reached an end of hole depth of 269.3 m, with the reported mineralised intersection sitting within the Dig Fault Zone and representing drilled width rather than true width, while true width estimates are based on the interpreted orientation of the zone.
No Mineral Resource has been estimated for Apollo at the date of the announcement, with Amara stating that the current data spacing and distribution are insufficient to establish the degree of geological and grade continuity required for Mineral Resource reporting.
Amara Minerals Managing Director Ian Holland said:
“That is the width and grade we need to see to support a maiden Mineral Resource at Apollo.”
Mineralisation at Apollo is associated with strongly faulted and broken metasediments within the Dig Fault, a near vertical structure with a north to south orientation.
The mineralisation has an overall north to south structural control and a moderately steep west dipping orientation.
Drilling attempts to intersect the structural control as close to perpendicular as possible, subject to available drill sites.
Historically, gold at Apollo has been identified in electrum and calaverite, occurring as very fine grained disseminations within the host rocks.
Gold has also been identified as free grains and in association with quartz muscovite veins and stockwork stringers.
The announcement states that the association between gold and tellurium is supportive of an alkalic intrusive related system.
Samples from the drilling program were submitted to Onsite Laboratory Services in Bendigo, where gold analysis was completed using fire assay techniques with a 50 g charge and an AAS finish to a lower detection limit of 0.01 ppm.
The assays were subject to quality control measures including duplicates, blanks and commercially available certified reference material.
The reported quality control results were consistent with the expected results from the submitted samples.
AA2602 was completed to an end of hole depth of 323.2 m, while AA2603 was completed to 270.0 m.
Logging of AA2602 is complete and its samples are undergoing assay, while logging and sampling of AA2603 are underway, with results from both holes to be reported following receipt and validation.
Drilling of AA2604 was in progress at the date of the announcement, with no exploration results reported for that hole.
The additional 3 planned holes remain subject to ongoing review of results received and are designed to test the Dig Fault Zone beneath the currently drilled levels.
Mineralisation within the Dig Fault Zone remains open, with the company stating that successful intersections below the current drilling would extend the vertical extent of the modelled zone and increase the scale of any Mineral Resource that may subsequently be estimated.
The Apollo drilling program follows completion of the initial drilling program at the Lauriston Gold and Antimony Project, after which the rig was relocated to Apollo.
Planning is underway for the rig to return to Lauriston during the December quarter following completion of the current program.
At Apollo, the disclosed next steps comprise assays from AA2602 and AA2603, continued drilling of AA2604 and approximately 2,000 m of further planned drilling.
References to Fosterville, Costerfield and Sunday Creek in the announcement are provided for geological context only, and mineralisation at those projects does not guarantee similar results at Apollo.