Iceni Gold (ASX:ICL) confirms Gander Fault at Goose Well
Iceni Gold has completed diamond drilling at the Goose Well target within the 14 Mile Well Gold Project in Western Australia, confirming the presence of the Gander Fault and providing geological information on the Goose Well Intrusive Complex and its relationship to gold mineralisation.
The 362m deep angled diamond hole was designed to improve understanding of the Goose Well Intrusive Complex and its relationship to gold mineralisation.
Highlights
Diamond drilling completed at Goose Well, comprising a 362m deep angled hole designed to improve understanding of the Goose Well Intrusive Complex (GWIC) and relationship to gold mineralisation.
Hole FMDD0058 successfully intersected a major ~25m wide interval of broken and brecciated ground interpreted to represent the Gander Fault, confirming the company’s structural model.
Multi phase intrusive complex system identified, comprising quartz syenite and monzogranite intruded by multiple generations of lamprophyre dykes.
Strong silica carbonate alteration, abundant sulphides and progressive demagnetisation of the host intrusive rocks towards the Gander Fault were identified during core observations.
Core processing and sampling are underway, with assays expected in August. Geological, petrophysical and structural data will be integrated into the exploration model to refine drill targeting.
The Goose Well target is located within Iceni Gold’s flagship 14 Mile Well Gold Project, situated between Leonora and Laverton in Western Australia.
The company said Goose Well is considered a priority gold target in its portfolio based on geological character, historical gold workings, gold nuggets and supporting geochemical results.
The target is centred on the Goose Well Intrusive Complex, a multi phase monzo granite and quartz syenite intrusion that has contact metamorphosed surrounding rocks, forming a magnetite reaction rim clearly defined in aeromagnetic imagery.
The company noted that mineralisation at Jupiter, Heffernans, Cameron Well and Wallaby is hosted or associated with syenite intrusions.
Previous exploration activities at Goose Well included soil sampling, rock chip sampling and historical RC drilling programs completed by previous operators.
The company reported that a six line soil sampling program on 400m spacing returned elevated gold and silver values ranging from 1 to 35ppb Au, while rock chip sampling returned high grade gold results exceeding 20g/t Au associated with strong silver, bismuth and tellurium anomalism.
The diamond drill program was designed to follow up the 2026 RC drilling, which defined a broad mineralised intrusive system and highlighted the need to better understand structural controls, vein geometry and intrusive architecture.
The program included objectives to confirm interpreted structures, define vein density, characterise mineralised veins, confirm relationships between multiple intrusive phases and investigate lamprophyres logged in RC drilling.
Hole FMDD0058 intersected a major fault corridor interpreted as the Gander Fault, comprising a ~25m wide zone from 222.21m of broken, brecciated and fault gouged quartz syenite to monzogranite and intensely sheared lamprophyre.
Core logging identified multiple intrusive phases of quartz syenite and monzogranite, subsequently intruded by multiple generations of lamprophyre dykes.
Iceni Gold Managing Director Wade Johnson said:
“The diamond core has provided information that could not have been obtained through RC drilling alone, with early observations confirming the presence of a major fault corridor, named the 'Gander Fault', comprising a ~25m-wide zone of fault gouge and brecciated quartz syenite intrusion with intensely sheared lamprophyre.”
Core logging identified that lamprophyres are regularly associated with silica carbonate alteration of the host quartz syenite and monzogranite, with alteration intensity increasing towards the fault zone.
Preliminary structural observations indicate the lamprophyres are steeply dipping and broadly parallel to the north south trending Gander Fault.
The company reported that handheld core magnetic susceptibility measurements decreased significantly over the Gander Fault, consistent with the demagnetised signature observed in the company’s aeromagnetic dataset. The quartz syenite, monzogranite and lamprophyres contain disseminated sulphides, with predominantly abundant sulphides present within the lamprophyres, both disseminated within the intrusions and along quartz vein selvages.
Iceni Gold said ongoing geological, petrophysical and structural logging will be integrated into the geological model to determine how the Gander Fault has influenced the emplacement, alteration and gold mineralisation of the Goose Well Intrusive Complex.
This work will refine the company’s exploration model and identify the key mineralised structures for follow up drilling, with core processing underway and assays expected in August.
The Goose Well update provides further geological information from the 14 Mile Well Gold Project, with Iceni Gold continuing work to integrate geological, petrophysical and structural data into its exploration model.
The company said core processing is underway, with assays expected in August.