The Northern Miner‘s Henry Lazenby highlighted the top gold assays from Dec. 29- Jan. 12. Drill holes are ranked by gold grade x width, as identified by Mining Intelligence.
This week’s top assay results come from diverse locations, including the South, Central and North Americas and Africa.
Guayabales in Colombia
Toronto-based Collective Mining (TSX: CNL) on Jan. 9 announced the best assay result for the period from the Apollo porphyry system at the Guayabales project in Caldas, Colombia. The company said hole APC70-D5 cut 527.4 metres grading 0.86 grams gold per tonne from 223.6 metres depth, for a width x grade value of 454.
It was one of six new drill holes into Apollo and intersected the deepest and most westerly mineralization ever found at the emerging deposit, indicating significant expansion potential.
The hole also included an exceptionally high-grade section of 107 metres at 2.02 grams per tonne gold-equivalent (31.75 grams gold and 1.2 grams silver per tonne) from 603 metres depth.
As a result, the Apollo system’s known dimensions have expanded to 520 metres in strike, 395 metres in width, and 1,070 metres in vertical depth, surpassing the previous depth of 935 metres. The system remains open to the north, west, and at depth.
Collective plans its most extensive drill program in 2024, aiming to drill at least 40,000 metres. The company will continue to focus on expanding the Apollo system with four rigs expected to operate throughout the year.
New Luika in Tanzania
The week’s second-best assay result came from London-based Shanta Gold (AIM: SHG), which on Jan. 11 reported that hole CSD354 at the New Luika project in southwestern Tanzania returned 11.6 metres grading 39.05 grams gold per tonne from 203 metres depth, for a width x grade value of 453.
Part of 106-hole, 13,325-metre drill program that Shanta started last July, the campaign was aimed at upgrading inferred resources at various deposits and extending the life of the mine. The drilling program targeted resources outside of the existing reserve underpinning the mine plan.
Alongside Elizabeth Hill, where the hole was drilled, the drilling program also targeted the Luika, Jamhuri West, and Black Tree Hill deposits, all showing potential for further exploration.
According to the company, the Elizabeth Hill deposit is characterized by a brittle-ductile shear zone hosting robust quartz veins within tonalite and diorite. It displays a high degree of variability in vein appearance, suggesting multiple phases of hydrothermal fluid emplacement.
A December 2022 estimate for the New Luika gold mine pegged underground and open-pittable reserves at 4.3 million tonnes grading 2.5 grams gold per tonne for 394,000 oz. gold. The indicated resource base includes 8 million tonnes at 2.76 grams gold per tonne for 709,000, with inferred resources at 4.8 million tonnes grading 1.77 grams gold for 270,000 oz. gold.
Los Reyes in Mexico
Prime Mining (TSX: PRYM) reported the week’s third-best result from its Los Reyes concession in Sinaloa, Mexico. The Vancouver-based company said on Jan. 10 that hole 23GE-147 returned 38.2 metres grading 9.69 grams gold per tonne from 155.4 metres depth for a width x grade value of 370.
According to the company, the drill hole in the Guadalupe East area included 4.8 metres grading 45.3 grams gold per tonne and 2,823 grams silver per tonne – one of the highest-grade intercepts ever recorded at the project.
The results from 23GE-147 are significant since they lie almost entirely within the 2023 economic resource pit, the upper intercepts returned higher grades than predicted in the current resource block model, and the lower intercepts were previously estimated to be waste in the model but have now shown potential for economic value.
The company says the discovery in Guadalupe East shares similarities with the Las Primas area, which lies entirely outside of the resource model. Las Primas also showed significant mineralization, including multiple kilogram grades of silver, similar to Guadalupe East.
Results from both areas provide valuable data for geologic modelling and will influence drilling priorities and targets for 2024.
Los Reyes has total measured and indicated resources, comprising both mill and heap leach material, of 27.2 million tonnes grading 1.16 grams gold per tonne for 1 million oz. of metal.
