The Northern Miner‘s Drill Down features highlights of the top gold assays from Dec. 8-15. Drill holes are ranked by gold grade x width, as identified by data company Costmine Intelligence.
This week’s top three drill assays come from projects in the United States, Fiji and Australia.
Haile in South Carolina
The week’s top drill assay comes from OceanaGold’s (TSX: OGC) Haile mine in South Carolina. The company reported on Dec. 14 that hole UGD0008 cut 73.8 metres grading 16.17 grams gold per tonne from 306 metres depth, for a width x grade value of 1,193.
Resource conversion drilling at Horseshoe Underground, with an target of about 18,400 metres, is expected to finish by the end of 2024. So far, 6,513 metres have been drilled in 15 holes, including 3,896 metres since Sept. 14, focusing on converting the lower Horseshoe inferred resource to higher-confidence categories.
Haile Underground hosts an inferred resource of 4.8 million tonnes grading 3.9 grams gold per tonne for 600,000 ounces..
Tuvatu in Fiji
Lion One Metals (TSX-V: LIO) reported the week’s second-best assay result from the cornerstone Tuvatu alkaline project on the tropical Pacific Island of Fiji. The company reported on Dec. 13 that hole TUDDH-696 returned 0.6 metres at 1,986.23 grams gold per tonne from 206.1 metres depth, for a width x grade value of 1,192.
Recent infill and grade control drilling at Tuvatu has yielded high-grade gold results, including multiple bonanza grades like 1,986.23 grams gold. These findings, predominantly from the near-surface Zone 5 area, indicate an expansion of the existing mine plan, with mining scheduled for 2024 and 2025.
Tuvatu hosts an indicated resource of 1 million tonnes at 8.5 grams gold per tonne using a 3 grams per tonne cut-off grade, for 234,300 oz. of metal.
Sunday Creek in Australia
The week’s third-best drill assay comes from Southern Cross Gold’s (ASX: SXG) Sunday Creek project in the Victoria gold fields of southern Australia. The company announced on Dec. 14 that hole SDDSC092 cut 9.3 metres grading 94.9 grams gold per tonne from 677 metres depth, for a width x grade value of 882.
The hole is the third-best result drilled at the project to date and displayed the rich gold-antimony mineralization the company is looking for. The hole also validates the company’s strategy of increasing the deposit’s volume and grade.
This hole further confirms the continuity of multiple high-grade vein sets, extending the mineralization in a ladder-like pattern. This is evidenced by intersecting 10 high-grade veins within 382.3 metres at 3.4 grams gold-equivalent per tonne interval, enhancing the project’s potential as drilling continues.
Between September and April 2024, the company plans to drill a further 19,000 metres using two to four diamond rigs. After completing the last four, it will have 19 completed holes to analyze.
