Great Southern chases platinum group elements with deep WA drilling
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Andrew Todd
Great Southern Mining is exploring in depth its East Laverton project in Western Australia and is commencing government-co-funded diamond drilling to target the discovery of platinum group elements (PGEs).
The program has begun at the company’s Diorite Hill target, with the drill bit expected to reach a massive depth of 900 metres.
Following completion of the hole, the rig will be moved to Great Southern’s Golden Boulder target area as part of the Duketon gold project to perform the first deep drilling in the gold discovery.
The company says exploration incentive grants of up to $337,500 were awarded through a competitive process for drilling, and the funding covers both the Diorite Hill pit and the Gold Boulder program.
‘(The geological team) likened these target horizons to the Merensky Reef in the Bushveld Complex in South Africa.’
Great Southern Mining managing director Matthew Keane
Diamond drilling at Diorite Hill was set to test two separate reflective horizons identified from seismic surveys; this shows the view as a layered complex covering a vast array of rocks spanning 110 square kilometers.
These layered intrusive complexes are thought to be highly likely for reef-style nickel-copper and PGE mineralization.
Great Southern says its target horizons reflect the world-class Merensky Reef in South Africa’s Bushveld Complex, displaying the same style of dense reflectors known to host rich platinum mineralization; This is an important factor behind the government’s decision to include the project in its incentive plan.
Local Western Australian analogues include the Munni Munni Complex in the Pilbara and Chalice Mining’s Gonneville Intrusion in Julimar, which has resources of 17 million ounces of PGE and 960,000 tonnes of nickel.
The company says previous shallow exploration at Diorite Ridge has failed to reach these large-style blind targets, and it hopes these targets will now be covered by the 900-foot monster hole.
Diamond drilling at Golden Boulder will target key structures believed to control gold mineralization noted in shallow drilling at the discovery. This marks the first deep diamond work in the region, where previous reverse circulation holes rarely went below 150 m.
Notable catches from recent reverse circulation drilling at Golden Boulder include a 5-metre strike from 41 meters at 14.57 grams per tonne (g/t) gold, a 5-metre segment from 25 meters running 5.1 g/t gold, and another 5-metre segment from 39 meters grading 3.5 g/t gold.
The Gold Boulder target lies along a key structural corridor in the Duketon Gold Belt and hosts several multi-million ounce operations throughout its tenure nearby.
The diamond drilling will provide the first deep stratigraphic and structural data across the Rosemont Shear Zone at the company’s site.
Great Southern Mining managing director Matthew Keane said: “A single diamond hole at Diorite Hill, East Laverton, will test many dense stratigraphic horizons that seismic and magnetic surveys have shown do not extend to the surface. GSN’s geological team compared these target horizons to the Merensky Reef in the Bushveld Complex in South Africa, known for its rich platinum mineralization.”
The Duketon gold project is a focal point in Great Southern’s WA strategy.
Work programs on Great Southern’s massive Edinburgh Park gold project are also ramping up across the country in Queensland.
The 1,560 square kilometer joint venture with Gold Fields sees the gold mining giant spend $15 million on the Great Southern property and earn up to 75 percent interest by financing exploration.
The company initially outlined more than 25 high-priority targets across the large tenement suite, focusing on potential large epithermal and intrusion-related gold systems as well as porphyry-related gold-copper opportunities.
Drilling is planned to resume following the north Queensland wet season, possibly in March; Initial plans call for at least two deep diamond holes to test the core and bottom of a geophysical anomaly.
Great Southern is well positioned for deeper drilling discoveries as diamond drilling continues at Diorite Hill before moving on to Gold Boulder.
Notably, the Duketon projects are all located within 25 miles of operating factories and major operations, providing the company with a number of value-added pathways should a discovery emerge.
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