NEW AGE EXPLORATION LIMITED New Age Exploration Limited announced that it has become a key sponsor of CSIRO's Ultrafine Next Gen Analytics Program ensuring the Company's access to industry leading, cutting edge soil geochemical sampling, analytical and data interpretation technology. First phase geochemical soil surveys have now been completed over several selected high priority areas of the Company's extensive Central Pilbara Gold-Lithium Project, centred over the highly prospective yet under-explored Mallina Whim Creek Basin of the Pilbara Craton, Western Australia, host to the recently discovered Hemi Gold Deposit and the World Class Wodgina and Pilgangoora Lithium Deposits. The Company's Central Pilbara Project area (CPP) is largely covered by transported material of varying depths and as a consequence conventional surface sampling is ineffective.
Traditionally, particles of a quarter of a millimetre in size (250 microns) were considered the smallest fraction of soil to be analysed. The CSIRO Ultrafine technique targets clays and iron oxide particles less than two microns in size. These have more surface area which can bind gold and other elements that move through the environment to form geochemical signatures of otherwise non-detectable orebodies laying hidden beneath many metres of soil or sand (CSIRO publication 2016).
A total of 5,300 samples have been collected and submitted to LabWest, Perth for Multi-Element Ultrafine soil analyses. The areas sampled in this first phase program included: Brahman 1,880 samples; Bullock Well 789 samples; and Quartz Hill 2,631 samples. These initial surveys have been focused on high priority "Hemi Style" intrusive related and structural gold targets identified from an assessment of multiple geophysical datasets sets by specialist Geophysical Consulting Group, Fathom Geophysics and on additional gold and lithium target areas which were identified from a review of historical data, field assessments and the results generated from the Company's most recent drilling campaigns.
Earlier in the year, NAE received results from the first 13 holes of its Phase 2 drilling programme completed at the Company's Brahman Project, and from limited rock chip sampling of lithium pegmatite targets at the Quartz Hill Project, within its extensive Central Pilbara Gold-Lithium Project, centred over the highly prospective yet under-explored Mallina Whim Creek Basin of the Pilbara Craton, Western Australia. All of the drilling completed in this campaign was undertaken within the Brahman Project area (E47/3958) which is located north of, and within ~20-30km of De Grey Mining's Mallina Gold Project and the recent Hemi gold discovery. Thirteen Reverse Circulation drillholes for a total of 1506m were completed prior to closure of the 2021 field season.
The majority of samples represent four (4) metre composites. The program was designed to follow-up high priority targets defined from its Phase 1 drilling in conjunction with a pipeline of new targets identified from recent data synthesis and proprietary data filtering technology undertaken on multiple geophysical data sets by specialist Geophysical Consulting Group, Fathom Geophysics. Results from the geochemical soil surveys are expected to be received during Fourth Quarter 2022 and will be used to refine and prioritise both gold and lithium targets prior to recommencing exploratory drilling of key targets.
