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Maximus spots visible gold in Kambalda drill core

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Matt BirneySponsored
Visible gold specks in Maximus’ diamond drill core.
Camera IconVisible gold specks in Maximus’ diamond drill core. Credit: File

Junior explorer Maximus Resources has unveiled a new high-grade gold zone approximately 300 metres below its known Redback gold resource at its Wattle Dam project. The project sits approximately 24 kilometres from the prolific gold and nickel mining region of Kambalda in WA. Recent assays confirm the new ‘Western Contact’ target area gave up high-grade hits up to a commendable 21.3 grams per tonne gold.

Some of the notable assay results from the heavily altered ultramafic area include an 11m section going 3.2 g/t gold from 626m downhole including a 3m parcel at 5.7 g/t gold from 626m. A separate intersection gave up a 2.5m wide mineralised envelope grading 6.0 g/t gold from 658.5m downhole and included a 1m internal section grading 13.0 g/t gold from 658.5m.

Several sections within the recent diamond drillholes at Western Contact displayed visible gold occurrences.

The assay results received represent a fraction of the drilled holes at Redback with the company electing to fast-track only selected intervals for testing to circumnavigate the current industry wide assay backlogs.

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Those returned from selected intervals make up part of the company’s exploration incentive scheme, or ‘EIS’ State Government co-funded drilling program.

Other recent drilling undertaken targeted a resource extension of the current Redback deposit, however multiple drillholes were extended to target the new Western Contact area following initial successes from the EIS program.

All of the extended resource definition holes drilled hit the same altered ultramafic unit that yielded the recent high grades in the EIS drillholes.

Several wedge drillholes are now being designed off the existing EIS holes to further test the potential of the Western Contact. Wedge holes are designed to branch off at depth from the previous drillholes and are a good alternative to save time and money when drilling deep holes.

Following the completion of the planned wedge drillholes, the company will initiate an infill and resource extension program at Redback utilising both diamond and RC drilling to complete an updated mineral resource estimate. Drilling is pencilled in to commence in the first weeks of February.

The Redback gold deposit sits approximately 600 metres south-southeast of the historic Wattle Dam gold mine and hosts a similar suite of rocks to Redback with visible gold identified in the deformed ultramafic sequence.

Having confirmed a wide zone of high-grade gold mineralisation and observed zones of alteration up-dip, opens up a new target area (Western Contact) for exploration and materially adds to the Redback mineralised system.

These results, and ongoing intersections of alteration zones, analogous to those observed at Redback and at Wattle Dam, continue to increase our confidence in the near-term development potential of another high-grade gold mine at Wattle Dam.

Maximus Resources Managing Director, Tim Wither

In its day the Wattle Dam gold mine flooded money into Ramelius Resources bank account – its then owner.

It gave up over 266,000 ounces at a very impressive 10.6 grams per tonne gold before Ramelius walked away to bigger and better things in 2012.

It was always likely that Ramelius left plenty of the precious yellow metal behind and Maximus is showing that to be the case – the presence of visible gold at depth in the latest drill hits is positively pulse quickening, particularly as the old Wattle Dam underground was mined at a serious 14.9 grams per tonne gold.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@wanews.com.au

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