Silver Mines Ltd (ASX:SVL) has struck visible gold for the first time ever, as well as more zinc, beneath its existing Bowdens proposed open pit silver project located near Mudgee in New South Wales.
Diamond drilling has continued to test mineralised zones for potential underground mining scenarios at the Bowdens Silver Deposit, with a recent focus on the Bundarra Zone. The Bundarra Zone is dominated by wide zones of high-grade zinc and lead mineralised lenses associated with gold, silver and more recently copper.
Targets (Aegean, Northwest and Bundarra Zones) are situated below the bulk-tonnage open-pit Ore Reserve of the Bowdens Deposit. Results have been received for holes BD21039, BD21041, BD21042, BD21043, BD21044, BD21045, BD21046, BD21048 and BD22004.
The resource drilling has focused on the Aegean and Northwest Zones through 2021, with recent drilling being focused on extending the Bundarra Zone south, west and east, as well as testing for greater economic gold potential at depth below the current open-pit Ore Reserve
Highlights:
- The latest assay results add to the prospects of the company sitting on a very significant underground resource as well as the proposed open pit.
- They reveal more gold and zinc in the system as the diamond drilling program extends south and east at the Bundarra Zone, which sits atop the largest undeveloped silver deposit in Australia and one of the largest in the world.
- Results include 1.8m at 1,181g/t silver equivalent (12 g/t silver, 9.46% zinc, 8.36% lead, 0.16% copper and 3.56g/t gold) from 225m. Another of the nine drill holes returned 116m at 0.31g/t gold from 223m including 3m at 327g/t silver equivalent (25g/t silver, 1.43% zinc, 0.91% lead and 2.44g/t gold) from 280m.
- They also show known mineralisation extending more than 250m south at Bundarra and boost confidence in resource ahead of completion of Scoping Study next quarter.
Bundarra Zone
The Bundarra Zone is a series of base metal (zinc and lead) dominant, semi massive to massive sulphide lenses below the current silver–zinc–lead Ore Reserve. Drill holes testing the extent of mineralisation beneath a dacite intrusion have shown that mineralisation is open along major structures (Gully and Eastern Faults).
The Bowdens System appears to be zoned around the dacite intrusion with silver (zinc and lead) deposited above and gold (silver, zinc, lead & copper) deposited below the dacite. New drill results from BD22004 (partial results) establish the Bundarra Zone to have a strike extent of 500 metres north to south while results from BD21044 establish a width of 300 metres east to west while continuing down dip to the west for at least 475 metres to BD20001.
The thickness ranges from a few metres to >20 metres. BD21048 was drilled to test for western extensions from BD21042 and results from the upper Bundarra lens have established at least a 75-metre continuation of high-grade mineralisation down dip. Further assay results are pending in this hole, with the remainder of the hole intersecting mineralisation of quartz-sulphide veins.
Significant intercept includes 1.8 metres @ 1,181 g/t silver equivalent from 225 metres.
BD21039 and BD21043 were testing eastern extensions to BD17011. Both holes intercepted mineralisation above the Bundarra Zone within the current Ore Reserve, as well as continuous mineralisation below the dacite as part of the lower Bundarra lenses.
Gold Zone
Gold intercepted in BD21044 in the east of the Bundarra Zone, in addition to results from BD21007 90 metres to the west is significant in terms of extent and grade within the Bowdens Deposit.
Considering gold only, with a 0.1 g/t cut-off (10 metre internal dilution) and individual assays up to 6.75 g/t gold, intersections in BD21044 can be distinguished as:
• 34 metres @ 0.16 g/t gold from 114 metres,
• 4 metres @ 0.31 g/t gold from 175 metres,
• 17 metres @ 0.67 g/t gold from 192 metres, including 4.0 metres @ 2.38 g/t gold,
• 116 metres @ 0.31 g/t gold from 223 metres, including 1.0 metres @ 1.86 g/t gold from 256 metres and 2.0 metres @ 1.81 g/t gold from 262 metres and 3.0 metres @ 2.44 g/t gold from 280 metres,
• 5.5 metres @ 0.65 g/t gold from 352.5 metres, including 2.0 metres @ 1.62 g/t gold from 355 metres, and
• 2.2 metres @ 0.32 g/t gold from 389 metres.
Importantly, visible gold has been identified for the first time ever at the Bowdens Deposit at depth in BD22004.
The company said that if the continuity of these results is established from ongoing drilling, this presents an excellent gold exploration target. Fire assays to date indicate a degree of coarse gold. Results from BD21044 provide significant evidence for potentially economic gold mineralisation, both associated with the Bundarra Zone but also as a separate mineralisation style associated with silver at depth and to the east.
A substantial intercept of silver and gold from is approximately 575 metres directly south and up plunge of BD21044 with no other drilling present at least within a window of 200 metres.
For further information please visit: https://www.silvermines.com.au/
