Traka has secured rights to the advanced Mt Cattlin Gold Project by agreeing with Galaxy Resources Limited (Galaxy) to exchange Traka's Free Carried 20% interest in the Mt Cattlin North Tenements for 100% of the gold and other mineral potential (excluding pegmatite minerals) on the tenement area.
Prior to the focus on lithium and other pegmatite minerals the Mt Cattlin North Tenements had a long history of gold mining and exploration. After decades of inactivity this now represents an excellent advanced gold project. What was originally turn-of-thecentury prospector-scale activity on 18 separate mines (Reported production of 23,006 tonnes @ 24.56 g/t Au (1)) has, with modern day exploration and improved gold prices, become a rare opportunity for substantial up-scale. There are kilometre-long mineralised shear zones and quartz-veined intrusives with high grade gold shoots and numerous drillhole intersections that present targets for immediate follow-up.
Traka acquired the tenements and recommenced exploration for gold in 2004(2) after years of inactivity following work by Metana Minerals NL and a few other parties in the 1980s and 1990s. Traka confirmed the excellent scope of the project, but a gold price in the low US$400s made this project a marginal opportunity at the time. With the gold price now much higher the opportunity is substantially improved.
Traka's 2004 drilling results included these peak drillhole intersections on just two of the known targets (3): Maori Queen Mine: Drillhole RAGC01 - 2 metres @ 24.5 grams per tonne gold
Drillhole RAGC02 - 2 metres @ 5.48 grams per tonne gold
Sirdar Mine: Drillhole RAGC03 - 2 metres @ 7.0 grams per tonne gold
Drillhole RAGC06 - 20 metres @ 2.93 grams per tonne gold, 0.26% copper
Drillhole RAGC19 - 15 metres @ 5.2 grams per tonne gold, 0.25% Copper
Drillhole RAGC18 - 1 metre @ 131.2 grams per tonne gold and 11 metres @ 2.5 grams per tonne gold
One of the prime targets, the Maori Queen Mine contains a high-grade gold shoot characteristic of the opportunities to be drilled. Significantly the shoot occurs within an envelope of lower grade mineralisation within a shear zone that extends over 1 kilometre in length. There are a number of other large parallel mineralised shear zones which appear to have the same prospectivity.
The Maori Queen Mine was originally discovered as an outcropping gold and copper gossan on surface. It was mined over a 100 metre strike down to about 25 metres depth. Traka confirmed that the shoot extended to depth with two drillholes about 50 metres below the old workings. Modern style soil geochemical and IP (Induced Polarisation) geophysical surveys showed that the Maori Queen was just one position within a mineralised shear that extends to also include the old Maori Chief and Lone Hand mines 500 m to the south-west. Widely spaced reconnaissance drilling along the shear highlighted mineralisation along its length with high grade intersections in a few places being good evidence of other high grade shoots eg Drillhole RR036 - 5 metres @ 2.7 grams per tonne gold, Drillhole RR038 - 4 metres @ 2.5 grams per tonne gold and Drillhole RR039 - 2 metres @ 9.9 grams per tonne gold. New very high resolution aeromagnetics and powerful electrical geophysical techniques can now be used to assist with highlighting these priority positions ahead of further drilling.
A characteristic district association of the gold mineralisation with copper, cobalt and other sulphide minerals should highlight the stronger mineralised zones as conductors within the lower grade gold periphery zones.
A further opportunity arising from modern exploration, but not part of the historic mining history, has been the recognition that some of the gold on the project is associated with quartz stockwork veined intrusives rather than shear zones. These stockwork zones provide scope for thicker larger tonnage targets. This geological setting has been established at the old Sirdar Mine. This mine was on a single narrow steep-dipping high-grade quartz vein but several generations of drilling in several orientations around the mine have demonstrated that the bulk of mineralisation is in a mafic intrusive.
In 2001 Greenstone Resources Limited (3), one of the former tenement holders, estimated a non-JORCcompliant Inferred Resource of 95,000 tonnes @ 5.0 grams per tonne gold at Sirdar using a 1 gram per tonne gold bottom-cutoff and a top-cut of 20 gram per tonne gold. Traka subsequently drilled 20 reverse circulation holes and established that a steep westerly trending intrusive hosted the bulk of mineralisation. Traka did not attempt to re-estimate the resource but did confirm that high-grade gold mineralisation remained open in all directions. Furthermore, geochemical surveys showed that Sirdar was positioned on the south-end of an 800 metre long north orientated soil geochemical anomaly which remains untested.
Traka has been successful in receiving a grant of $127,500 from the State Government EIS (Exploration Initiative Scheme) towards drilling of the intrusive related style of gold mineralisation. The planned high resolution aeromagnetics survey should assist in highlighting the position of these intrusives as well as the other style of gold mineralisation hosted in shears. Traka's new agreement with Galaxy dissolves the existing joint venture and transfers Traka's 20% interest in the tenements to Galaxy but gives Traka the ability to acquire Mining Lease(s) over future gold production areas. In this eventuality Galaxy's rights to pegmatite minerals are still preserved.
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GALAXY RESOURCES LIMITED 