Iceni Gold (ASX:ICL) advances deep test of Welcome Creek gravity magnetic anomaly

Iceni Gold has provided a further technical update on its deep diamond drilling program at the Welcome Creek Project in the Northwest Officer Basin of Western Australia, where hole WCD001 is approaching a planned depth of at least 1,500m in an effort to resolve the source of a large, coincident gravity and magnetic anomaly interpreted as an IOCG style target measuring approximately 5km by 3km.

The program represents one of the deepest modern drill tests in the basin and is designed to improve geological understanding of an underexplored and structurally complex province.

Highlights

• Diamond hole WCD001 has reached 1,475.5m and is progressing toward a planned depth of at least 1,500m.
• The hole is testing a large coincident gravity magnetic anomaly with dimensions of approximately 5km by 3km, consistent with an IOCG style target.
• Thick Neoproterozoic sedimentary and evaporitic sequences of the Officer Basin have been intersected, including zones of structural complexity, minor sulphides and broad oxidation.
• Core has been delivered to Galt Mining Services in Perth for full pXRF and spectral scanning to guide multi element assaying and geological interpretation.
• The drilling program is supported by up to $150,000 in co funding from the Western Australian Government Exploration Incentive Scheme.

The Welcome Creek Project comprises two adjoining exploration licences covering 393km², located approximately 260km northeast of Newman and 140km south of Telfer within the Paterson Orogen and Northwest Officer Basin.

The target area is characterised by a large, coherent gravity and magnetic feature that has remained unexplained by earlier drilling, including the historical LDDH1 hole which reached 701m but did not intersect lithologies accounting for the geophysical response.

Subsequent reprocessing and modelling of regional datasets have refined the interpreted depth to the top of the source to approximately 800m, prompting the current deep diamond test.

WCD001 was pre collared with reverse circulation and mud rotary drilling before transitioning to HQ3 and then NQ3 diamond coring, intersecting a thick carbonate and sulphate rich stratigraphy interpreted as the Waters Formation of the Tarcunyah Group.

This sequence includes dolomitic mudstones, siltstones, black shales and evaporitic units, with localised brecciation, halite cemented zones and intervals of strong hematite and chlorite alteration that are interpreted to reflect significant basin scale fluid movement.

The company notes that these features are consistent with a major hydrothermal system, although the precise relationship between the observed stratigraphy and the underlying geophysical source remains unresolved.

A zone of halite breccia encountered at approximately 1,388m resulted in high bit wear and subsequent deviation, leading to the continuation of drilling as WCD001B to maintain hole integrity.

Drilling was temporarily suspended after the drill string became bogged at 1,475.5m, an issue that has since been overcome, with reaming underway and the program scheduled to resume to the planned depth, which would make it one of the deepest drill holes completed in the Officer Basin.

Iceni Gold Managing Director Wade Johnson said the program continues to test a large and geologically compelling target and that detailed downhole data acquisition is central to refining the company’s understanding of the system, stating that

“completion of WCD001 will deliver one of the deepest holes in the Officer Basin and advance our understanding of this underexplored and highly prospective province in Western Australia”.

Core from WCD001 is undergoing full non destructive scanning, including pXRF and spectral analysis, to support detailed logging, identification of key mineralogical features and the selection of intervals for laboratory multi element assaying.

The company has emphasised that, to date, no assays have been reported and that the current focus remains on geological characterisation and testing of the geophysical model.

From a broader strategic perspective, the Welcome Creek program complements Iceni’s gold focused activities at the 14 Mile Well Project in the Laverton Greenstone Belt, while providing exposure to a large scale copper gold target within the Paterson Orogen, a region that hosts major deposits such as Telfer and Nifty.

The scale of the geophysical anomaly, the depth of drilling and the application of modern core scanning and structural analysis reflect a systematic approach to evaluating a target that has previously eluded effective testing.

With drilling scheduled to complete to at least 1,500m and comprehensive core scanning and multi element analysis underway, the immediate focus at Welcome Creek is on resolving the source of the gravity magnetic anomaly and refining the geological model for the Northwest Officer Basin.

The outcome of WCD001B is expected to inform the design and prioritisation of any subsequent deep drilling, within a province that remains largely unexplored at depth but is supported by regional scale structures, reactive basin stratigraphy and government co funding aimed at encouraging frontier exploration.

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