HIGHLIGHTS:
- New JORC2012 gold resource estimate is 722,000 tonnes @ 1.31 g/t Au for 30,500 ounces, with 22,100 ounces classified in the indicated mineral resource category.
- Increase of 35% in tonnes and 40% in ounces at 0.5 g/t Au cut-off (compared to the previous resource reported in 2020).
- Mineralised zone traced to a vertical depth of 175m below surface; the deposit remains open at depth.
- Gold intersections from the recent drilling programme include:
BCRC141; 34m @ 1.25 g/t Au from 160m incl 11m @2.93 g/t Au;
1m @ 9.47 g/t Au from 178m
BCRC142; 25m @ 1.19 g/t Au from 86m incl 4m @ 2.06 g/t Au,
BCRC143; 17m @ 1.16 g/t Au from 155m incl 4m @ 2.12 g/t Au,
- Exploration at Bellchambers is ongoing and studies will be instigated, Venus has agreed with
The recent drilling programme (refer ASX release
Project Background
Gold mineralisation at Bellchambers, and the Range View Prospect (Figure 1*; refer ASX release
The gold mineralisation shows similarities with common BIF - hosted gold mineralisation reported from the central section of the Sandstone Greenstone Belt.
Bellchambers JORC2012 Resource Estimate Summary
Widenbar and
Data used as part of the mineral resource estimate include historical drilling date for 51 RC holes and four diamond holes, in addition to data for 14 RC holes drilled by Venus in the period 2019 - 2023 (Figure 2*). The data have been analysed statistically and geostatistically and an Ordinary Kriged interpolation methodology have been applied.
The Resource Estimate has been classified in the Indicated and Inferred categories as defined by the 2012 edition of the JORC code (Figure 4*. WAA has reviewed the drilling, sampling and assaying data used in the estimate and considers it to be of sufficient quality to support the resource classification applied. As noted in a previous resource report in 2020, the deposit still remains open at depth.
The total Indicated and Inferred Resource reported at 0.5 g/t Au and 1.0 gm/t Au cut-offs is summarised in Table 1*. The updated resource at a 0.5 g/t cut-off represents an increase of 35% in tonnes and 40% in ounces compared to the resource previously reported in 2020.
The updated resource at a 1 g/t cut-off is presented in Table 2* and represents an increase of 37% in tonnes and 41% in ounces compared to the resource previously reported in 2020.
Mineralisation Domain Interpretation
Mineralisation domains have been interpreted by WAA on transform sections at a 135deg bearing using a nominal 0.2 g/t Au threshold. A base of oxidation surface has been generated from available logging information. A bulk density of 2.4 t/m3 has been used above this surface and 2.90 t/m3 below the surface. The values are based on specific gravity determinations carried out on three historical diamond drill holes (BCRD0076, BCRD0078 and BCRD0079).
The new 2023 Venus drilling has correlated very well with the 2020 interpretation and confirms the depth extensions of the main southern zone. This is illustrated on the section interpretation of new drill hole BCRC141 in Figure 3*. Venus' 2020 drill holes are shown as a red trace, while 2023 holes are outlined in blue. Comparing the interpreted mineralisation envelopes for the 2020 model (green) and updated 2023 model (red), highlights the significant amount of mineralised material added by the 2023 drilling.
Further Work
Interpretation of the geology and mineralisation of the Bellchambers deposit is ongoing and additional RC and diamond drilling programmes are planned to further define the mineralisation at depth. Venus has agreed with
*To view tables and figures, please visit:
https://abnnewswire.net/lnk/BG0WJRTS
About
The Company's major gold project is the
Contact:
Managing Director
Tel: +61 8 9321 7541
Copyright (C) 2023 ABN Newswire. All rights reserved., source