Focus Minerals (ASX: FML) is pleased to advise that gold grades of up to 55g/t have been recovered from recent rock chip sampling of substantial quartz veining at its Treasure Island project in WA’s Eastern Goldfields.
Highlights
- Results from rock chip samples include 55.3g/t, 45.7g/t and 38.4g/t
- Samples from the eastern side of the island come from quartz veins running more than 300m in length with the array of veins spanning an overall width of 20m
- Results highlight strong potential for a significant outcropping high-grade gold resource
- Mapping and sampling continuing; plan to drill-test targets now being devised
The high-grade gold samples containing fine visible gold have been recovered from several key locations in the southern and eastern portions of the Island. Treasure Island is part of the Lake Cowan Project, 35km south-south east along strike from the major gold camp of Kambalda-St Ives.
The sampling program commenced early in September 2010 as part of a major geological mapping initiative to unlock the controls to gold and copper mineralisation found in the area. At the start of September, an aeromagnetic survey was flown across the tenement package. This survey is being analysed with results expected late in the December Quarter. The geological mapping and sampling program is ongoing across the Lake Cowan Project.
The mapping program has been focussed on Treasure Island where up to 80 rock chip samples have been collected to date with better results including 55.3g/t, 45.7g/t, 38.4g/t, 22.8g/t, 16.4g/t, 15.3g/t and 9.4g/t (see Figure 1 and Table 1).
The results from the southern portion of the Island, which include 38.4g/t, 22.8g/t and 16.4g/t, are from three separate north-south striking quartz veins that strike to the south under Lake Cowan. The veins are consistently 0.5-1.0m thick and contain fine visible gold associated with oxidised sulphide grain boundaries striking for about 50-70m before going under the lake surface (see Figure 2).
The quartz veining containing rock chip results of 2.1g/t, 45.7g/t and 9.4g/t come from the same vein array made up of at least three separate veins ranging in thickness from 0.5-4m and striking nearly 300m in length before running under the lake surface. The thickest of the veins contains visible gold as pinheads and fine disseminations associated with the oxidised sulphides along its entire 300m strike length. Oxidised sulphides occur on both the footwall and hangingwall contacts within the host gabbro rock unit but importantly are also disseminated heavily throughout the vein thickness. The main vein in places approaches 4-5m in thickness with the whole array approaching 20m. Surprisingly the veins appear totally untouched by old-timer workings (see Figure 3).
The Company is extremely excited by these latest results and is confident that Treasure Island could host a significant outcropping high-grade gold resource. Focus will continue to aggressively explore the immediate prospect area in addition to prospective areas in the southern portion of the Island and has plans to drill test both target areas in the near future.
Focus Chief Executive Officer, Campbell Baird said the results showed Treasure Island had enormous potential to host a high-grade gold resource. “These results are extremely exciting and highlight the substantial upside at what is already emerging as a highly desirable address in geological terms,” Mr Baird said.
“We will now embark on the next round of sampling and other grassroots exploration work to gain a greater understanding of what we have in Treasure Island and how we can tap its full potential as quickly as possible,”
Download full announcement – High-grade gold results from Treasure Island