New Murchison Gold Ltd. has reported significant high-grade gold intersections from near-mine resource extension drilling at its Crown Prince gold mine, part of its Garden Gully gold project in Western Australia.
The highlight of the reverse circulation (RC) drilling program was hole CPRC030, drilled from within the Stage 2 open pit, which returned a stellar intercept of 14 metres at 231.67 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from 80 metres depth.
This included a ultra-high-grade zone of four metres at 805.2 g/t gold, containing a single-metre interval that logged an astonishing 2,860 g/t gold, the highest-grade one-metre sample recorded in the company’s Garden Gully database.
Visible gold was confirmed in the drill chips. The intersection lies outside the current Crown Prince Mineral Resource interpretation, beneath the planned final open-pit shell and adjacent to proposed underground mine infrastructure.
In addition, surface RC hole CPRC008, located 125 metres west of CPRC030, intersected three metres at 14.9 g/t gold from 181 metres and four metres at 13.5 g/t gold from 192 metres.
Chief Executive Officer Alex Passmore said the drill results significantly strengthen the business case for developing an underground mining operation beneath the existing open pit.
“We are very pleased with this exceptional high-grade result from our recent near-mine extensional drilling at Crown Prince,” Passmore said.
“CPRC030 has returned the highest-grade RC sample we have recorded at Garden Gully.
“The intersection is close to the proposed underground mine design and outside the current Mineral Resource, highlighting the potential for further resource growth as we continue to evaluate the underground opportunity.”
Assays remain pending for five nearby drill holes. New Murchison Gold is now planning a targeted diamond drilling campaign to twin CPRC030 and map the structural orientation and plunge of the high-grade shoot, while incorporating the data into ongoing underground feasibility studies.
