Geotechnical drilling has started at the Northern Zone gold project in Western Australia as the Oracle Power and Riversgold joint venture advance towards a mine development and closure plan (MDCP).
Samples collected from the diamond drilling programme will be used to undertake geotechnical laboratory testing which will include unconfined compressive strength (UCS) and direct shear tests.
Naheed Memon, CEO of Oracle, said the "small but important" nine-day drill will acquire whole rock core in the fresh rock zones across the porphyry intrusion. "It will provide critical structural and rock strength data for pit slope stability in final pit design work for the MDCP," he said.
The Northern Zone Gold Project sits within the Canon Shear or fault zone, with further drilling required to define the limits of mineralisation identified to date. Some 25km east of Kalgoorlie, in Western Australia, the Project is close to the Super Pit, one of Australia's largest open-pit gold mines.
Riversgold Chairman David Lenigas, furthered: "The imminent Mining Lease grant and MDCP maturation will provide long-term security of tenure for the Northern Zone Gold Project for the ultimate benefit of our shareholders and our partners in the development of Northern Zone, Oracle Power and MEGA Resources."
Based on the indicative pit layout from MEGA Resources and lithological setting, four diamond drill holes to depths of about 100-150m below surface are to be completed over the next week, targeting key geotechnical data requirements. The core will be photographed, structurally logged and sampled by Xirlatem in Kalgoorlie, with selected whole core samples sent to Perth for laboratory testing.
Oracle/Riversgold completed initial reverse circulation (RC) drilling in October 2021, covering a depth of 260m across seven holes. Results confirmed an exploration target of 200-250mt at a grade of 0.4-0.6g/t or an estimated 2.5 to 4.8 million ounces of gold.
The Project area is within the Eastern Goldfields granite-greenstone belt, which is known for its rich gold deposits and significant crustal structures.
