Premier1 uncovers emerging large-scale WA gold-base metal corridor
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Andrew Todd
Premier1 has announced solid gold results from recent drilling at its Yalgoo gold project in Western Australia; While it yielded high-grade results, it also revealed an impressive geochemical signature that potentially points to a different mode of exploration.
The company says multi-element analysis now indicates the emergence of a potential volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) corridor at the Carlisle and Olive Queen mines, just 50 kilometers north of ASX-listed 29Metals’ world-class Golden Grove VMS mine.
Premier1 says reverse circulation (RC) drilling has intersected gold mineralization outside the existing 13,000-ounce resource at the Wadgingarra mine and solid shallow grades are being prepared for follow-on.
Results from Carlisle include a 4-metre hit rating of 1.88 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from 44 metres, and a thicker 14-metre intercept running 0.84 g/t gold from 42 metres; this includes a 3-metre core yielding 2.82 g/t gold.
While the gold gains are welcome, it is the multi-element geochemistry that has caught management’s attention.
‘The latest drilling program has revealed significant exploration potential at the Yalgoo project.’
Premier1 managing director Simon Phillips
The company said analysis of the drill chips detected a strong VMS pathfinding signature, suggesting that the mineralization may be part of a system rich in base metals such as copper and zinc, as well as precious metals.
VMS deposits are often found in clusters, as seen at Golden Grove, and the company believes a new mineralized corridor may exist in the north of the area, running from the Olive Queen area through Cumberland and Carlisle and then opening south.
Further evidence of a major mineralization system came from the nearby Kersey Mountain area, where drilling confirmed even more hydrothermal activity. Gold grades were more modest here with a best result of 8 meters at 0.54 g/t gold from 68 metres. Premier1 says the holes are abnormal in a number of pathfinding elements.
Early results don’t rule out the competition, but a large, efficient system is exactly what you want to see, as it can often point to high-grade discoveries lurking nearby.
Premier1 managing director Simon Phillips said: “The recent drilling program has revealed significant exploration potential at the Yalgoo project, particularly the identification of a VMS association at Carlisle and the nearby Olive Queen Prospects, providing a major opportunity for the Company to expand the Wadgingarra Resource with relatively simple and cost-effective exploration.”
The company’s Yalgoo project covers 266 square kilometers of the stage 1 Yalgoo-Singleton greenstone belt, along the pipeline from 29 Metals’ Golden Grove operations and sandwiched between major gold producers Ramelius Resources and Capricorn Metals.
300km away at Premier1’s Abbotts North location, the company has started initial drilling at the Rochefort gold mine. The project is located in the historically rich but relatively underexplored Abbotts greenstone belt, just 35km north of Meekatharra.
In particular, the Rochefort prospect is located just 20 km along strike to the north of New Murchison Gold’s recently discovered Crown Prince deposit, which currently hosts a high-grade resource of 2.2 million tonnes grading 3.9 g/t gold for 279,000 ounces.
With drilling at Abbotts and the emergence of a new geological model at Yalgoo, Premier1 now plans to conduct electromagnetic and induced polarization surveys at Yalgoo to focus on the core conductors of the interpreted VMS system prior to core drilling.
It is often said that the best place to find a new mine is in the shadow of an old one. Premier1 traveled to Yalgoo with the intention of building on a known gold resource and appears to have stumbled upon a geological plot that could add a whole new dimension to his project.
As the company continues to expand its gold footprint, the prospect of a VMS system potentially rich in gold and base metals is too good to ignore. If upcoming geophysics can illuminate some incandescent drilling targets, one borehole might be all that’s needed.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au
