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Alkane Resources is considering a new drilling campaign after identifying gold-copper mineralisation approximately 1km beneath the former Proprietary open pit at its Peak Hill project in New South Wales (NSW).
A 1651m diamond drill hole, PHD084, intersected alteration and low-grade mineralisation that Alkane believes could indicate the continuation of the Peak Hill epithermal gold system at depth.
The drilling returned 153m at 0.11g/t gold (Au) and 0.02 per cent copper (Cu) from 1427m, including 4.8m at 0.46g/t Au and 0.06 per cent copper.
A separate intersection returned 6.4m at 0.42g/t Au from 1000.6m, including 2m at 1.02g/t Au.
The program was supported by a $165,000 NSW Government exploration grant and was initially designed to investigate the potential for a deeper copper-gold porphyry system.
Alkane managing director Nic Earner said the drilling had identified an opportunity for additional exploration.
“Whilst the hole did not resolve the target, it did highlight the potential for the shallow epithermal gold resource at Peak Hill to extend to a significant depth below the Proprietary pit,” he said.
“The drilling highlights the potential for mineralisation to continue at significant depth beneath Peak Hill and identifies a substantial area for further exploration.”
Peak Hill is located approximately 60km southwest of Dubbo and 10km south of Alkane’s operating Tomingley gold mine. The former open-pit operation, which mined gold between 1998 and 2005, is currently under care and maintenance.
Its existing underground inferred mineral resource stands at 1.02 million tonnes grading 3.29g/t Au and 0.15 per cent Cu.
Alkane is planning six additional diamond drill holes totalling 6600m, with drilling scheduled to begin in November and assay results expected in 2027.
The campaign will investigate the continuity of gold mineralisation between the existing resource and the deeper intersection, while a separate geological study will review potential copper-gold porphyry targets.
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