PNX Metals hits high grade gold in surface rocks at its NT project

Microcap “penny stock” explorer PNX Metals’ (ASX:PNX) shares were up 33% (remember: penny stock) to a fourth of a cent ($0.004) in mid-afternoon trades on Monday, following reports of high-grade gold.

The company’s fieldworkers notched the success at its Burnside project in the Northern Territory’s Pine Creek region. 

Gold hits reported today come from a 20km x 20km area in the northern end of PNX’s tenement package, which it calls the northern exploration leases, part of the Burnside project. 

Pine Creek is a bonafide mining province with gold, uranium and base metal mineralisation present throughout (where geological conditions allow). PNX is also developing the Hayes Creek project.

Grades explainer 

Investor information provider Undervalued Equity classifies high grade gold as that in concentrations over five grams of gold per tonne of ore (5g/t). 

Many Australian projects boasting grades closer to 4g/t are also widely accepted as high-grade operations. 

Keep in mind that surface (“outcrop”) rock-chip mineralisation is often higher in grade than that detected further underground, however, outcrop mineralisation is a key method of finding submerged deposits. 

PNX Metals is reporting the following from rock chips: 

• One sample at 25g/t gold

• One sample at 24.3g/t gold

• One sample at 11.2g/t gold 

• One sample at 11.6g/t gold 

However, PNX Metals also reported a historical assay result from one single RC drill-hole, in which we can see lower grades underground compared to surface outcrops. 

Historical drilling teams hit: 

• 03m @ 5.6g/t gold from 10m depth, including: 

  • 01m @ 12.6g/t gold at 10m depth 

As far as open cut (and underground) mines go, 10m depth is relatively shallow. 

Should PNX be able to replicate similar results through further drilling, it is very likely the company will be able to greatly enhance the bankability of its project once a Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) is completed. 

Early days 

“The high-grade gold in rock-chips being reported, and assessment of historic data, highlight the potential for further discovery of economically significant gold mineralisation,” PNX MD James Fox said. 

“Away from the known deposits, historic mines and prospects, minimal exploration has taken place. We look forward to drill testing these prospective ‘gold’ corridors early in 2023, after the NT wet season.” 

The company will now prepare to commence an aircore (AC) drilling program over key mineral targets within the northern exploration leases, before moving onto the creation of a 3D model of underground mineralogy. 

Busy 2023 

AC drilling collects rock chips from underground and is often used as the first-stage drilling option given its relative cheapness to other types of deeper-perforating rigs. 

Historic drill results will be further corroborated against the aircore results, and further field data, ahead of next-stage drilling at an unknown date (but likely to occur later this year if PNX Metals finds promising signs in aircore samples.) 

The NT wet season typically wraps up in mid-March.

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