USD $4,127.96
Goldman Maiden diamond hole confirms gold mineralisation into fresh rock below the oxide blanket
Sentinel Metals Limited (ASX:SNM) has reported results from its maiden diamond hole at the Columbia Gold-Silver Project in Montana, United States.
Hole DDCO26-001 returned:
- 46.8m at 5.5g/t gold from 88.2m, including 21.4m at 11.1g/t from 97.6m and 13.5m at 16.6g/t from 105.5m.
- 14.5m at 0.8g/t gold from 183.5m.
- 11.5m at 0.9g/t gold from 72.0m.
- 8.2m at 0.7g/t gold from 170.0m.
All intervals are reported as downhole lengths and true widths are not yet known. Length-weighted core recovery across the 46.8m intersection was 72%, while recovery through the 13.5m high-grade interval averaged 20%, ranging from 12% to 62%. Sentinel said the reported grades must be read with its core-recovery cautionary statement.
The hole also intersected gold in fresh rock below the redox boundary at about 135m downhole, where core recovery was 95–100%. Assays for holes DDCO26-002 to DDCO26-005 are pending.
Sentinel Metals Managing Director Matt Herbert:
Our first hole at Columbia has achieved two things. Firstly it has returned a strong maiden intercept of 46.8 metres at 5.5 grams per tonne, including 13.5 metres at 16.6 grams per tonne. Secondly it confirms that gold continues into fresh rock beneath the oxide blanket – rock that historical operators typically stopped at as they were drilling for oxide heap-leach feed.
Beyond the strong gold result, our first hole has provided important insights into the geological and drilling characteristics of the Columbia system. The program has already enhanced our understanding of the oxide profile and ground conditions, allowing us to further refine drilling techniques. We have now transitioned to triple-tube drilling to optimise core recovery as we progress the program and, importantly, there is no indication at this stage that recovery characteristics have adversely impacted the reported gold grades.
We are excited to have made such a strong start to our maiden drilling program at Columbia, and we look forward to receiving additional assay results in the weeks and months ahead.
