Panther Metals announced the results of its auger drilling programme over part of its majority-owned Merolia Gold Project in Western Australia. We caught up with Darren Hazelwood, CEO of Panther to update shareholders on yesterday’s announcement.
Darren Hazelwood, Chief Executive Officer, commented:
“We are very pleased with the results of this first auger drilling programme over the Merolia Gold Project. The programme has discovered a significant gold anomaly which extends over 5km x 2.5 km in the central part of licence E38/3384.
There are also several other more subtle gold anomalies which trend approximately NW-SE, extending from the Comet Well gold trend in the north. These gold anomalies are also coincident with anomalism in several other elements, which support the likelihood of primary gold mineralisation in the vicinity.
The Company is now evaluating the opportunities to progress this project towards an reverse circualtion drilling programme to test these anomalies and several other gold prospects in the area.”
Overview of Auger Sampling Programme
Panther has completed an extensive auger drill geochemistry programme within tenement E38/3384 which is in the central part of the Merolia Gold Project. This programme, which was undertaken by contractors Gyro Drilling Pty Ltd, covered a large part of the south-eastern extension of the Comet Well Gold trend from which significant gold anomalism in soil was previously identified over at least 2.5km of strike. The Comet Well Trend has also yielded over 40 ounces of gold nuggets by prospectors in recent times, yet remains undrilled.
Sampling comprised of 827 auger soils holes, with samples analysed by ALS Ionic Leach for gold and 60 other elements. One anomalous gold target in the central area (40 Mile Camp) and one open gold target defined in the north (near Comet Well) were defined. Elements associated with alteration support the gold anomaly with other elements showing negative response, representing a zone of iron depletion.
The auger assay results for gold are considered anomalous and follow up auger infill drilling is required on the 40 Mile Camp anomaly to refine these gold anomalies and to help establish reverse circulation drill targets. The target on the northern boundary requires infill bedrock testing by auger drilling.
The Merolia Gold Project is located 250km north-northeast of Kalgoorlie and comprises a tenement package of 145km2 with coverage of a 14km long by 8km wide Archean greenstone belt. The project lies in a prolific mining region with the well established 3Moz Granny Smith and 7Moz Sunrise Dam within a close vicinity.
From a geological perspective the Merolia Gold Project is located in the Burtville Domain on the eastern margin of the Norseman-Wiluna Belt, part of the Kalgoorlie Terrane, located within the Eastern Goldfields Super Terrain. The lower stratigraphic units are characterised by mafic and ultramafic dominated units at greenschist metamorphic grades. The succession is intruded by a number of mafic and ultramafic dykes and sills, and late-stage granitoids have disrupted the greenstones.
https://www.panthermetals.co.uk/images/2021/05/26/soil-auger-results-for-gold-merolia-project1.jpg
Figure 1: Soil auger results for gold over part of the Merolia Gold Project. The 40 Mile Camp anomaly is clearly defined and displays an elongated NW-SE in accordance with the trend of the underlying greenstones.
For the purposes of UK MAR, the person responsible for arranging for the release of this announcement on behalf of Panther is Darren Hazelwood, Chief Executive Officer.
