Askari’s WA Burracoppin gold project expanded with fresh gold hits outside known mineral area
Askari is putting together the dots at Burracoppin. A picture of a much larger gold play is forming
Source: iStock
Mentioned
KEY POINTS
- The second batch of assay results from Askari’s Phase III RC drilling at Burracoppin confirms gold mineralisation beyond formerly known exploration boundaries
- Several assays remain pending; today’s results extend the scope of the Benbur prospect
- Once all data is collected, the company will update its 3D models ahead of next stage exploration
Askari Metals’ (ASX:AS2) Burracoppin gold project in WA has grown in size overnight with the latest assay results from RC drilling confirming gold hits outside the previously known boundaries where mineralisation occurred.
The extensional drilling program focused on the Benbur prospect, from where results are pulled today. The results are a long time coming: drilling was originally wrapped up in June. All year, delays at assay laboratories in Australia have slowed down the pace of miners’ newsflows.
Regardless, the company expects to receive several more assay results from this same campaign in the near future. Askari also today notes the results boost “potential to significantly increase the scale of the potential gold endowment” (read: a possible JORC upgrade on the horizon.)
There is currently no guarantee of this, however, the company will use all the data from Burracoppin to upgrade its 3D geomodelling in the area.
Regardless, future drilling is planned, though no timeframe has been given yet. The updated 3D models will be used to inform the next stage of drilling on-site.
What has Askari found?
Investor information provider Undervalued Equity classifies high grade gold as that in concentrations over five grams of gold per tonne of ore (5g/t), though many projects in Australia with grades of 4g/t are also considered high grade.
Compare that to Askari’s latest results:
06m @ 2.37g/t gold from 31m depth, including:
01m @ 9.54g/t gold at 31m
05m @ 1.85g/t gold at 151m
02m @ 3.46g/t gold at 155m
Reading between the lines, it’s clear Askari’s latest drill run has not found high-grade gold in particularly large quantities in this extensional drill run, but, the presence of gold further out than previously known is a promising indication more commercial deposits may expand over the company’s acreage.
All in all, it’s still early days. Worth noting is that last month, the company confirmed gold extensions to the south at Burracoppin. A month prior, in August, it did the same.
Success so far: management
“The first tranche of Phase III RC drilling results identified a southward extension of the mineralisation from the Christmas Gift prospect in the north towards Benbur in the south,” Askari exploration chief Johan Lambrechts said.
“Building on the success from the first tranche of results, the second tranche confirms the extension of mineralisation north and downdip of Benbur.”
“This further reduces the space between these two prospects, offering significant potential to join these two zones of mineralisation…the results of several holes remain outstanding.”
The shape of Askari's three month charts
Disclaimer: Market Index helps small-cap ASX listed companies connect with Australian investors through clear and concise articles on key developments. Askari was a client at the time of publishing. All coverage contains factual information only and should not be interpreted as an opinion or financial advice.
