TNM Drill Down: Top gold assays for the week Sept 23-30

Our TNM Drill Down feature highlights the top gold assays of the past week. Drill holes are ranked by gold grade x width, as identified by our sister company Mining Intelligence (www.miningintelligence.com).

TNM Drill Down Sept. 23-30, 2022.

Great Boulder Resources (ASX: GBR), Lumina Gold (TSXV: LUM) and Superior Gold (TSX: SGI) led the drilling assay results for the week of Sept. 23 – 30 with projects in Australia, Ecuador and Australia, respectively.
Great Boulder reported 16 metres of 27.43 grams per tonne gold at its Side Well project from 120 metres for a grade x width of 439 in reverse-circulation hole 22MBRC056.  

The advanced exploration project near the town of Meekatharra, in the northwestern corner of Western Australia state, scored second best in our tally for Sept. 2 – 9. That hole 22MBR038, also in the high grade Mulga Bill vein, cut 15 metres of 35.8 grams gold per tonne from 88 metres for a grade x width of 537. 

The new holes are about 90 metres east of previous drilling, the company said in a news release.

“Mulga Bill is continuing to deliver a string of extremely high-grade gold intersections as we continue defining the extent and orientation of these structures,” Great Boulder managing director Andrew Paterson said in a release. 

Diamond core drilling at Lumina’s Cangrejos project, returned the second best hole of the week. Hole C22-239 cut 453.7 metres of 0.64 gram per tonne gold from surface for a grade x width of 290, the company said. It’s part of the final series of holes for the miner’s prefeasibility study (PFS) at Cangrejos, in El Oro province, southwest Ecuador. Hole C22-239 was drilled to extend the Gran Bestia deposit to the northwest, Lumina said.  

“The drill results continue to demonstrate the exceptional continuity of grade at Cangrejos and Gran Bestia and are in line with expectations from previous drilling,” Lumina president and chief executive officer Marshall Koval said in a news release. “The newly drilled step-out areas are expected to add to existing inferred and indicated resources and the inclusion of the northwest ridge extension at Gran Bestia may lower the stripping ratio at the mine planning stage of the PFS study.” 

Superior Gold reported 10.52 grams per tonne gold over 27.3 metres in hole UDD25627 for a grade x width of 287. The company said the diamond drill intercepts “demonstrate great potential in an under-explored area” of the Indian Access at Superior’s Plutonic Gold mine in Western Australia, 950 km northeast of Perth. 

Drill hole UDD25624 intersected 15.6 grams per tonne gold over 4.5 metres while hole UDD25668 intersected 5.3 grams per tonne gold over 8 metres, the company said.  

The results expand the Caribbean and Indian zones next to underground infrastructure that will lower capital expansion costs, CEO Chris Jordaan said in a statement.  

“With this recent success as an example, our investment in reinterpreting historical data will further assist our strategy to extend Plutonic’s mine life,” Jordaan said. “Early indications are promising and indicate that mining could commence as early as Q1 2023.” 

Plutonic has produced almost 6 million oz. of gold over 32 years and has a measured and indicated underground and pit resource of 1.9 million oz. gold in 17.2 million tonnes averaging 3.5 grams gold per tonne.