Koonenberry Gold Ltd (ASX: KNB) has reported the progress of its drill programme at the Bellagio Gold Prospect.
An air core drilling programme consisting of 14 holes totaling 1,595m has been completed at the prospect. This represents the second phase of drilling at Bellagio. During this second phase the drilling was designed to test below the base of complete oxidation, where broad +200m wide zones of highly anomalous gold had been defined during Phase I drilling.
Drilling has intersected visible gold in quartz veins, and the occurrence is down dip of the previously reported 10m @1.61g/t Au which did not have any visible gold.
Managing director, Dan Power, said, “The company is very excited about the discovery opportunity at Bellagio. This high impact air core drilling programme has met its objectives and we have been able to penetrate below the strongly weathered upper saprolite where better gold grades might be expected.”
The quartz veins are widespread and importantly have also been intersected below the strongly weathered zone where better gold grades and widths might be expected.
Further, below the strongly weathered zone, quartz veins are associated with sericite-silica hydrothermal alteration and trace arsenopyrite over a +125m wide zone. The company has stated that this is significant as sericite-silica alteration is a common feature of many orogenic gold systems.
Mr. Power continued, “To see visible gold in quartz veins in air core drill chips is extremely rare in my experience and therefore extremely exciting. We know we have potential for high-grade gold at the Bellagio because we have a previous rock chip sample which returned 39.4g/t Au.”
Assay results from Phase II drilling at Bellagio are expected around mid-January 2024. Following receipt of these results, additional drilling will be planned. This may include further drilling at Bellagio in the form of reverse circulation and/or diamond drilling which would provide critical structural information.
To find out more, please visit www.koonenberrygold.com.au
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