Iceni Gold (ASX:ICL) begins maiden drilling campaign at Goose Well

Iceni Gold has commenced its maiden reverse circulation drilling program at the Goose Well target within the company’s flagship 14 Mile Well Gold Project, located between Leonora and Laverton in the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia.

The program represents the next stage of exploration following several phases of geological fieldwork, soil sampling and analysis of historic drilling data that identified Goose Well as a priority target within the broader project area.

The drilling campaign is designed to test gold mineralisation associated with the Goose Well Intrusive Complex and to confirm the strike and depth continuity of mineralised zones previously indicated through resampling of historic reverse circulation drill material and surface sampling across the prospect.

Highlights

• Maiden RC drilling program consisting of 23 holes for approximately 2,600m underway at Goose Well.

• Program designed to confirm gold intercepts identified through resampling of historic RC drill holes and to evaluate the strike and depth extent of mineralised zones hosted within the Goose Well Intrusive Complex.

• Resampling of four historic RC drill holes returned intercepts including 21m @ 0.68g/t Au from 1m in GWRC-12 including 5m @ 1.57g/t Au from 9m, and 12m @ 0.64g/t Au from 66m in GWRC-13 including 2m @ 2.33g/t Au from 69m.

• Rock chip sampling from anomalous zones returned results including 40.2g/t Au, 26.9g/t Au, 21g/t Au, 14.6g/t Au and 14.4g/t Au.

• Drilling program expected to be completed in March, with assay results anticipated in April.

The Goose Well prospect sits within Iceni’s 14 Mile Well Gold Project, a large landholding in the Laverton Greenstone Belt situated on the western side of Lake Carey.

The project lies within 75km of multiple operating gold processing mills and in proximity to several major deposits in the Leonora Laverton district, including Mount Morgan, Granny Smith, Sunrise Dam and Wallaby.

Goose Well is centred on a multi phase monzogranite and quartz syenite intrusion known as the Goose Well Intrusive Complex, where geological interpretation indicates the intrusion has contact metamorphosed surrounding rocks and formed a magnetite reaction rim that is clearly defined in aeromagnetic imagery.

The prospect has been identified as a priority exploration target based on geological characteristics, historical gold workings, gold nuggets and supporting geochemical results.

Historical exploration programs across the prospect include soil sampling campaigns, rock chip sampling and several small RC drilling programs conducted by previous operators including Normandy Mining between 1994 and 1996, as well as later work by smaller prospectors in 2008 and 2014.

A soil sampling program returned elevated gold and silver values ranging from 1 to 35ppb Au, helping define anomalous zones across the prospect area.

Because original assay data from parts of the historic drilling were not publicly available, Iceni undertook field validation including collar location verification and systematic resampling of preserved drill spoil from four historic RC holes.

The resampling work confirmed zones of gold mineralisation and provided supporting data for the current drill program.

Additional rock chip sampling across the prospect returned high grade gold results exceeding 20g/t Au, with mineralisation occurring in quartz veins hosting fresh sulphide or boxworks after sulphide within anomalous soil zones that coincide with areas of historical drilling activity.

Iceni managing director Wade Johnson said the company had been working toward drilling the Goose Well target for some time.

“The Iceni team has had their sights set on Goose Well for some time, and we are very excited to be commencing our maiden drill program in this area. This drilling program is designed to help determine the scale and continuity of the system hosted by granitic rocks that we have identified from fieldwork since 2023.”

The maiden drilling campaign will test two initial target areas within the prospect, referred to as the Main and North targets.

At the Main target, drilling is planned on a 40m by 40m grid covering approximately 120m of strike and 120m down dip extent, with angled holes designed to intersect the interpreted structure at a favourable angle, while additional contingency holes may step out a further 80m down dip depending on geology encountered during drilling.

The North target will be tested with four RC holes across two traverses spaced 20m apart, with holes on 40m centres designed to test a north northwest trending mineralised shear zone supported by aeromagnetic interpretation.

The drilling program is designed to test a structurally controlled, syenite hosted mineralisation model derived from historic drilling and recent geological reinterpretation.

Target areas lie within a broader intrusive complex that the company notes is analogous to other syenite associated gold systems in the district, including Jupiter and Wallaby.

With statutory approvals, Program of Work approvals and access agreements in place, drilling has commenced with Challenge Drilling mobilised to site.

The program is scheduled to conclude by the end of March, with assay results expected in April, which will provide the first systematic drill testing of the Goose Well target and contribute to the ongoing geological interpretation of the wider 14 Mile Well Gold Project.

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