Peregrine Gold Limited announced the completion and receipt of final assays from the first phase reconnaissance drilling at Newman Gold Project which has identified significant gold, silver, palladium, lead and zinc mineralisation. A total of 92 reverse circulation holes were drilled for a total of 5,377 metres within the Birdsnest, Peninsula and Tin Can prospects. A total of 1,837 drill samples were collected and submitted for gold and multi-element geochemical analysis.

The majority of samples were 4 metre composites although some drill holes at the Peninsula prospect were submitted as 1 metre interval samples. The RC drilling at the Birdsnest prospect was designed to test a gold soil anomaly which has been traced over approximately 300 metres. Drilling has reported a sequence of predominately haematitic siltstones, with subordinate cherty material and quartz veining with a predominately doleritic footwall.

Although high grade gold anomalism was not intersected, the drilling has reinforced the geological model that high-grade plunging gold shoots are most likely present at the Birdsnest prospect. Evidence of this possible structural model was best illustrated by drill hole 22KRC 5. This hole was drilled approximately 5 metres to the southwest and beneath historical rock samples 21KR 49 to 53 and the costean programme recently completed beneath and adjacent to these historical rock samples. The historical surface rock samples and the quartz vein exposed in the costean contained abundant visible gold in a quartz-ironstone vein to approximately 1.1 metres beneath the surface.

Approximately 100 metres along strike to the northwest of these historical rock samples, gold quartz specimens and nuggets were found on the surface and historical prospecting has reported significant gold found via metal detectors. Drilling beneath this location failed to explain the source of this gold at the surface Drill hole 22KRC 5 intersected a package of siltstone, haematitic in part with some ferruginous quartz between 6 and 7 metres but failed to intersect visible gold although low level gold (4 metres @ 0.078 g/t Au from 4 to 8 metres) was reported. The elevated gold and silver anomalism reported in the reverse circulation drill samples may represent a halo proximal to the high-grade gold mineralisation and hence will assist with future drilling campaigns targeting these possible high grade gold zones.

There is clear evidence of a high strain zones, rodding and an intersection lineation plunging shallowly to the southeast throughout the project. This structural architecture may also include the gold mineralisation. Reverse circulation drilling at the Peninsula prospect centred on several stacked northwest trending gold soil anomalies and a 5 metres thick north westerly trending quartz-ironstone vein.

This vein which has visible gold exposed at surface was subsequently core drilled with a spectacular 0.50 metre core returning abundant visible gold (see ASX announcement 5th August 2022). Drilling intersected a predominately sedimentary package comprising interbedded haematitic siltstone (schistose at times) and graphitic black shales at times containing disseminated and blebby pyrite with some fine pyritic veinlets and stringers. Doleritic units were also reported in the majority of holes drilled.

Vein quartz was also reported in numerous drill holes. Gold, silver and lead anomalism is associated predominately with the auriferous quartz vein and quartz veins intersected in several other drill holes away from the main vein. Significant broad zones of anomalous silver anomalism are hosted within a black pyritic graphitic shale unit on the hanging wall of the auriferous quartz vein (holes 22KRC- 57, 58 and 59) with 22KRC 59 returning 136 metres @ 0.47 g/t Ag from 12-148 metres (EOH) Drill hole 22KRC 30 located in the southern portion of the Peninsula prospect returned 4 metres @ 0.24 g/t Pd from 56-60 metres (EOH).

The drill logs are inconclusive as to the host rock for this anomalism. Although doleritic units were reported in a majority of the holes drilled at the Peninsula prospect, pyroxenitic units were observed in the southern two-thirds portion of the prospect predominately within creek exposures. Pyroxenites were also observed outcropping at the Tin Can prospect.

This hole will be deepened and additional holes drilled along strike to assess the extent of this palladium anomalism.