(MENAFN- ABN Newswire)
Torian Resources Limited (ASX:TNR) is pleased to announce progress of a 17,500m
drilling campaign (RC and AV combined) at the Mt Stirling Gold Project. Drilling includes a planned combined 12,500m RC to test:
o High priority targets at Tyrannus (awaiting results);
o Hydra (preliminary assays received);
o Estera (high grade Au assays received);
o Stirling Well extension;
o Mt Stirling / Viserion extension, and
o Skywing gold targets.
An additional ~5,000m of AV drilling is also advancing and will continue to vector and expand the footprint of high-ranked regional Au; As; multi-element and structural targets across the project.
In addition to proving up recent discoveries, a key priority of this campaign will be to upgrade the confidence level of an increased amount of the Mt Stirling-Viserion Resource to ??Indicated??, and to potentially add additional ounces by extending the strike and selective depth of the gold system.
Approximately 40% of the planned meters will target the shallow portion of the Mt Stirling-Viserion gold deposit to be drill defined to JORC Indicated category (~880m strike x ~125m depth) from surface 425m down to 300mRL. The Company anticipates that this is likely to increase the global Project Au grade, expand the Resource base and provide valuable data and confidence to a 2022 Q1 Optimisation Study.
Drilling of shallow up-dip Mt Stirling and Viserion extensions, continues this week, with preliminary results expected before Christmas.
The Company is aiming for an updated global MRE for the Mt Stirling Gold Project at the end of Q1 2022. (Subject to drilling efficiency and lab timelines). In addition to the results from this next round of drilling, the MRE will include previously announced results that were not included in the May 2021 MRE.
In an effort to expedite the drilling programme the Company has secured the services of three drilling contractors who will be drilling throughout this coming January.
The Company has also secured the services of Minecomp to conduct a pit optimisation study, as it takes another step towards assessing the economics and unlocking value from the Mt Stirling / Viserion gold system.
Torian's Executive Director Mr Peretz Schapiro said 'We are pleased with the technical success of our first pass RC program at Hydra as we continue to develop and prove up our high priority targets at the Mt Stirling Gold Project.
Our drilling program has made fantastic progress to date, with the procurement of additional rigs to put us ahead of schedule. We continue to be pleased by the efficiency of our drill program and turnaround time on assays from the lab.
I encourage shareholders and the wider investment community to attend our investor webinar later today to hear our exploration program discussed at length, in addition to having the opportunity to directly ask questions to management.
Hydra RC Drill Update
Five of the 12 RC drill holes for 575m, have been drilled that tested the interpreted NW target strike zone, with highly encouraging results:
o 2m @ 2.60 g/t Au from 106m (MSRC128);
inc 1m @ 3.20 g/t Au from 107m (end of hole)
Primary gold is associated within a quartz-feldspar porphyry unit, with the interpreted high-grade footwall contact yet to be fully tested.
Gold mineralisation dispersion is also present up-dip and along strike with:
o 5m @ 0.56 g/t Au from 84m (MSRC127);
inc 1m @ 0.89 g/t Au from 85m
o 4m @ 0.51 g/t Au from 96m (MSRC129);
inc 1m @ 0.86 g/t Au from 86m
Results are from the central and northwest prospect area, with the remaining central and southeast areas to be drill tested once RC rig completes Tyrannus.
- A ~1km strike of favourable and prospective structure remains untested between Mt stirling-Viserion and Hydra, with Hydra SE planned RC to vector towards MS-Viserion on favourable results There is also the potential for sub-parallel mineralised structural links on either flank of the Viserion Shear Zone.
The gold target trend at Hydra has been conceptualised from limited AV and historical gold data, with further systematic assaying of AV drill data likely to expand the target zones for future drill phases.
Encouraging signs at Hydra are the increased wider footprint of the Au target zone, and better widths intercepted in comparison to historical mineralisation.
Skywing Discovery
The re-interpretation of Mt Stirling Central Zone to flat easterly dipping lode(s) has resulted in 24 pierce points over ~450m strike defining the newly discovered 'Skywing' lodes(s). These pierce points have been obtained from existing drilling, which has brought into play most intercepts which were outside of the previous MS MRE of May 2021.
Skywing lode(s) vary from 1-2m true width and provide an immediate prospective shallow open-pittable interpreted extents (~800m x 220m; from surface). This will be drill tested with 40x40m drill spacing towards the Wonambi Shear with ~3,550m of RC drilling planned; with the first phase of 1800m going towards testing the mineralised model in order to commit to a 2nd phase of drilling which will complete the program.
Of significant interest at Skywing, is that Au grades increase in grade towards the east on every section. (Other than supergene enrichment close to surface on western extents of interpreted shallow easterly dipping flat lodes). It is highly unusual that the Skywing lode(s) exhibit such Au homogeneity and increasing grades towards the Wonambi Shear.
Although modest ounces, modelled Au grade, increasing with depth and easterly appreciation could multiply scale potential. Any increase in width will also have this effect.
Skywing also demonstrates potential for repeated flat lodes; alike to the Stirling Well stacked lode model, in addition to prospective spaced-out occurrences that further drilling will seek to unveil.
Detailed logging will also confirm saprolitic v primary gold and provide sufficient data for interpreted modelling.
Given shallow nature of the mineralisation and planned drilling, assay results from Skywing are anticipated to fast-track the prospect???? inclusion into the optimisation study.
Tyrannus Maiden RC planned drilling
Tyrannus drilling has advanced with 11 drill holes completed for 890m drilled.
Encouraging zones of interpreted mineralisation have been intercepted, with little to no oxide through the south-east of the prospect, and considerable oxide and shearing intercepted in the central prospect area on the Ursus Fault itself.
Preliminary assays (MSRC131 through to MSRC141) are expected within 2 weeks.
Drilling will resume on the remainder of planned program in early January, to test the 14 interpreted target zones.
Several structural orientations are present at Tyrannus, with linking structures likely to also have some controlling influence on gold mineralisation dispersion. Drill orientation will commence targeting sub-vertical NE dipping interpreted lodes which will also be able to identify flat-dipping orientations that may shallowly or sub-vertically dip towards the Ursus Fault.
A second phase will likely target NE striking mineralisation associated with NE shearing, with further exploration to target possible NNW striking SW-dipping interpreted mineralisation adjoining or originating from the Ursus Fault.
Tyrannus targets are structurally significant with some situated on an inflection and splay junction of the Wonambi Shear termination onto Ursus Fault, ~400m east of the Mt Stirling gold mineralisation, and are highly likely to merge onto and along strike of the Mt Stirling SE mineralised Au lode positions.
There are 14 >0.10 g/t Au target zones with 7 > 1.00 g/t Au zones to be tested during the upcoming RC drilling. Further systematic gold assays from the recent AV drilling will aid positioning of planned drilling, and likely provide further target zones.
Diorite Drilling Update
A total of 6 holes (DIRC030-35) have so far been drilled at Unexpected Estera Lode (for 669m), with three extensional holes (DIRC032-34) completed to extend strike of mineralisation SE and NW.
A single hole has also been completed (DIRC035) targeting high-grade zone downdip continuity, with encouraging signs that system continues at depth. Trace pyrrhotite has been identified, providing vectoring geophysical potential to mineralisation.
Assays from DIRC033 returned 3m @ 9.46 g/t Au from 37m (DIRC033), inc 1m @ 25.46 g/t Au from 37m, extending Estera HG strike to the south-east as modelled.
Assays from DIRC032 has returned an anomalous comp of 4m @ 0.70 g/t Au from 32m. Single meter samples from this comp are now at the laboratory awaiting results.
The Company is very encouraged with these results and the rapidity of assay turnaround time. Torian is also fast-tracking follow-up drilling, having secured three rigs throughout January 2022.
Mineralisation is associated with dolerite and quartz/carbonate veining, trace to minor sulphides (mainly pyrite) with moderate chloritic to weak biotite alteration, and fuchsitic, silicified to weakly bleached.
Further RC drilling is planned at the prospect to vector on strike extensions and down-dip continuity of high-grade gold.
Mt Stirling Regional Update
Regional exploration from Mt Stirling Central has generated multiple arsenic anomalies from systematic surface pXRF surveys, which continue to provide a strong pipeline of regional targets.
Exploration has also delineated priority Stirling Well West structural targets with coinciding surface pXRF arsenic anomalism. The Company has identified these targets to warrant AV/RC drill testing.
*To view tables and figures, please visit:
Torian Resources Ltd (ASX:TNR) is a gold exploration and development company with an extensive and strategic land holding comprising eight projects and over 400km2 of tenure in the Goldfields Region of Western Australia.
Torian's flagship project, Zuleika, is located along the world-class Zuleika Shear. The Zuleika Shear is the fourth largest gold producing region in Australia and consistently produces some of the country's highest grade and lowest cost gold mines. Torian's Zuleika project lies north and partly along strike of several major gold deposits including Northern Star's (ASX:NST) 7.0Moz East Kundana Joint Venture and Evolutions (ASX:EVN) 1.8Moz Frogs Legs and White Foil deposits.
Torian's other projects include the strategically located Mt Stirling and Malcolm Projects in the Leonora region (near Red 5's King of the Hills Project), where it recently completed updated Mineral Resource Estimates and preliminary scoping studies, and a suite of other projects in the Kalgoorlie region including Credo Well JV Zuleika JV, Bonnie Vale, Gibraltar and Mount Monger/Wombola.
Peretz Schapiro
Executive-Director
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