HIGHLIGHTS:
- Drilling at Ricciardo has intersected substantial, strongly mineralised gold intervals including:
- 20m @ 4.78 g/t Au from 148m (RDRC019)
- 20m @ 1.03 g/t Au from 177m and 9m @ 1.97 g/t Au from 201m (RDRC018)
- 6m @ 4.69 g/t Au from 142m (RDRC020)
- Results demonstrate the excellent potential for further discoveries at the Ricciardo deposit along strike and down dip.
- Drilling demonstrates the high-grade nature of the Ricciardo project area which has a current strike length of 2300m.
- Results provide an excellent platform for follow up drilling to significantly increase the resource at Ricciardo, which is currently 476koz.
- System remains open along strike and at depth, with further drilling planned from Q2 CY2024.
- Benchtop metallurgical study work on Ricciardo underway, with initial results expected during the current quarter.
Drilling at Ricciardo comprised three (3) RC holes for 564m total drilling. Two of the holes were designed for Mineral Resource infill and metallurgical study purposes, with the third designed to test for extension of the Ricciardo mineralisation. All three holes returned strongly mineralised gold intercepts of significant downhole thickness.
The Ricciardo results are an excellent outcome as the drilling has confirmed the continuation of the mineralised system and increases the confidence of high-grade historical results from previous explorers.
The Ricciardo project area possesses a current Mineral Resource estimate of 476 koz gold.1 It comprises a number of high-grade shoots, which remain open both at depth and along strike – see Figures 3 to 5. As a result of its scale and strong further growth potential, Ricciardo is a key focus area for Warriedar this year.
Follow-up extensional drilling programs for Ricciardo (including diamond) are planned for Q2 2024.
Warriedar Managing Director and CEO, Dr Amanda Buckingham, commented:
“These latest results from the 2.3km long Ricciardo deposit provide further confirmation that it is a high-quality deposit offering an attractive combination of existing scale, strong grade, and excellent further growth potential. The Ricciardo project area has not been uniformly drilled below a depth of 100m. Today’s results help to confirm the continuation of high-grade shoots that potentially extend at depth. The Ricciardo area is set to be a key focus area for us this year.”
Figure 1: Location of the Ricciardo deposit corridor within the Golden Range Project.
Key results
Three (3) RC holes for 564m were drilled at the Ricciardo project area in November last year (refer Table 1 and Figures 2, 3 and 4). Assay results have now been received from this program and significant intercepts are reported in Table 2. Key commentary is provided below.
RDRC018 was designed to test the down-dip extension of mineralisation under the Ardmore pit (refer Figures 2 and 3) and also collect sample material for a bench scale metallurgical test work program. The hole successfully drilled an extensive mineralised zone that confirmed high grade historical drill results. Significant intersections include:
- 20m @ 1.03 g/t Au from 177m; and
- 9m @ 1.97 g/t Au from 201m.
Follow up diamond and RC drilling is planned for Q2 2024 to further increase understanding of this high-grade extensional zone and test for high grade extensions to mineralisation down dip and along strike.
RDRC019 was designed as a Mineral Resource infill and metallurgical test hole, testing within the known high-grade shoot under the Ardmore pit (refer Figures 2 and 3). This hole intersected:
- 20m @ 4.78 g/t Au from 148m depth.
The results from RDRC018 and RDRC019 are excellent outcomes as they confirm the continuity of mineralisation and confidence around the historical drilling in this area. The results provide an excellent platform for additional follow up drilling planned to commence in Q2 2024.
RDRC020 was also a Mineral Resource infill and metallurgical test hole, located ~870m further south and drilled under the Silverstone pit (refer Figures 2 and 4). This hole intersected high grade mineralisation and confirmed results from previous exploration. Hole RDRC020 returned:
- 6m @ 4.6 g/t Au from 142m.
The results from the Ricciardo program are an exciting outcome. When viewed together the results confirm the presence of a number of high-grade shoots contained within a broader shear structure that has a strike length of 2300m.
It is noted that only 37 holes have been drilled deeper than 200m across the entire length of the Ricciardo project area (29 by previous explorers, 8 by Warriedar). This creates an exciting opportunity for follow up drilling to test for mineralisation down dip and potentially to significantly expand the existing 476koz Ricciardo resource.
Ricciardo geological discussion
Ricciardo is the largest known deposit along the Mougooderra Shear Zone (MSZ). Ricciardo extends 2300m along strike and has a current Mineral Resource estimate of 476 koz gold (refer Figure 5).
The Ricciardo mineralisation is located along the shear zone and dips at 60-70° to the west. The mineralised zone typically varies in width between 12 and 25 metres.
A thick oxidised sequence extends to 40-65 m depth, and this was the focus of mining and processing activities by previous owners from 2006 to 2018.
Follow-up drilling by previous owners, and Warriedar, has confirmed the Ricciardo mineralisation extends to ~450m down dip. Multiple high-grade shoots dipping ~60° south have been identified see Figure 5. The existence of additional shoots along strike is readily inferable, but due to poor drill density at depth along strike these are yet be confirmed or defined – this provides a high-quality exploration target for follow up drilling.
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