Siren Gold Limited (ASX: SNG) commenced drilling at the Barrons Flat prospect at Sam’s Creek within permit EP 54454 in New Zealand.
Highlights
• Diamond drilling commenced at Barrons Flat
• The Sam’s Creek Dyke (SCD) is up to 60m thick, 7kms long, and a vertical extent of >1km
• Drilling to date has focused on a 1km section of the dyke which contains the previously announced Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) of 588koz @ 2.43g/t Au at a 1.5g/t cut-off
• Sam’s Creek has significant potential for increased gold resources from further exploration drilling
• Siren is targeting a large tonnage bulk mechanised underground mining operation
Background
The Sam’s Creek Gold Project is located 140kms NE of Reefton and 100kms NE of Lyell. The Project comprises two exploration tenements: EP 54454, which is 100% held by Sam’s Creek Gold Limited (SCGL) a wholly owned subsidiary of Sandfire Resources Limited (Sandfire), and EP40338, which is 81.9% held by SCGL under a joint-venture agreement with New Zealand’s largest gold miner, OceanaGold Ltd (OGL), who own the remaining 18.1% interest.
Siren has entered into an agreement to acquire the Sam’s Creek Gold Project from Sandfire which is expected to be completed in October 22. EP 54454 expires on September 26, 2022 and Sandfire has applied for a four-year permit extension, which is currently being processed by New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals (NZPaM). Sandfire has also recently been granted an access agreement by the DoC to allow drilling at Barrons Flat.
Sam’s Creek Gold Project
The Sam’s Creek Gold Project is divided into several exploration prospects along the strike of the Sam’s Creek Dyke (SCD), and includes Riordans, Western Outcrops, Doyles, SE Traverse, Carapace, Main Zone, Anvil and Barrons Flat.
The SCD is up to 60m thick and can be traced E-W over 7kms along strike. The dyke generally dips steeply (~60 degrees) to the north, where it intrudes quartzite and sandstone dominated lithologies, but dips more shallowly to the NW and SE between the Carapace and Western Outcrops, where it intrudes argillite.
The porphyry dyke is variably mineralised and has been modified by at least four alteration / mineralisation stages. The main gold mineralising event is Stage III, where mineralisation consists of irregular to planar gold-bearing arsenopyrite-pyrite±quartz veins, which form sheeted and local stockwork vein complexes that generally dip to the SE and form moderate-high grade gold zones. The SCD has been folded into gentle NE plunging folds, with the gold veins preferentially forming in the fold hinges, resulting in NE plunging mineralised shoots.
To date the drilling has been focussed around the Main Zone and Carapace (resource model area) and SE Traverse area, with little or no drilling at Doyles, Anvil West and Anvil East. To date only around 15% of the SCD has been drill tested.
Next Steps
New Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE)
Siren believes there is significant potential at Sam’s Creek for a large underground mining operation.
The Sam’s Creek Dyke (SCD) is up to 60m thick, can be traced for over 7kms along strike, has a vertical extent of at least 1km and is open at depth. Drilling to date has focused on a 1km section of the dyke from the Carapace to the Main Zone.
Golder completed a JORC Main Zone Resource estimate in 2013 for an open pit mining scenario and included large areas of low-grade mineralisation. An Indicated and Inferred Resource of 1Moz @ 1.54g/t Au at a 0.7g/t cut-off was estimated. At a 1.5g/t cut-off the estimate is 588koz @ 2.43g/t Au.
Siren considers that Sam’s Creek is a potential underground mine and believes the model could be improved for an underground mining scenario, by trimming some of the low-grade dyke, and using separate domains for the high-grade mineralisation along the fold hinges and lower grade fold limbs. The 2013 resource estimate does not include the SE Traverse prospect.
For further information please visit: https://www.sirengold.com.au/
