REG - Empire Metals Ltd - Drilling to Target High-Grade: Eclipse-Gindalbie

Empire MetalsAnnouncement

06/06/2022 07:01

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RNS Number : 6830N  Empire Metals Limited  06 June 2022

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Empire Metals Limited / AIM: EEE / Sector: Natural Resources

6 June 2022

Empire Metals Limited

('Empire' or the 'Company')

 

New Drilling Campaign to Target High-Grade at the Eclipse-Gindalbie Gold
Project

 

Empire Metals Limited, the AIM-quoted resource exploration and development
company, is pleased to provide an update on its exploration activities at the
combined Eclipse-Gindalbie Gold Project in Western Australia, and to report
that the next campaign of reverse circulation ("RC") drilling will commence
there in mid-June.

 

Highlights:

·      Fast tracking next RC campaign, which will consist of over 3,290m
of drilling across some 26 drill holes, to target high grade mineralisation at
combined Eclipse-Gindalbie Gold Project

·      New RC programme follows successful structural mapping along the
Eclipse shear and initial success achieved at Homeward Bound

·      Previous drilling confirmed that the gold mineralisation
associated with the Eclipse shear extends over a strike length of more than
500 metres, an increase of over 300 metres from the previously reported figure

·      Drill campaign will focus on the most prospective targets within
the Eclipse-Gindalbie Project area, including Homeward Bound which has
previously delivered very high-grade intercepts including:

·      5m @ 8.99 g/t Au from 31m downhole, including 1m at 40.90 g/t Au

·      3m @ 8.96 g/t Au from 98m downhole, including 2m at 13.28 g/t Au

·      3m @ 9.88 g/t Au from 46m downhole, including 1m at 26.20 g/t Au

 

Shaun Bunn, Managing Director, said: "We are pleased to announce that drilling
will shortly commence on what are the most prospective targets identified to
date within the combined Eclipse-Gindalbie project area and we are very
excited to be moving back to the Homeward Bound prospect to further explore
the area where we previously achieved stellar gold intercepts.

 

"Importantly, the successful geological mapping of the Eclipse shear, achieved
through the diamond drill programme just recently completed, has provided our
exploration team with a greater understanding of the strike and dip of the
mineralised lode. We can now step out our drilling targets with confidence and
look to extend the known footprint of gold mineralisation within the combined
Eclipse-Gindalbie project area, which we believe contains a very significant
high-grade gold system."

 

 

Eclipse-Gindalbie Gold Project Background

The Eclipse Gold Project is comprised of a single mining licence (M27/153)
covering 306ha . The licence is located approximately 55km NNE of Kalgoorlie
(refer Figure 1). The historical Eclipse gold mine has had multiple owners
since its discovery in 1902. In the period from April 1905 to November 1910,
the Eclipse shaft was developed to a depth of 258 feet and produced 954 tonnes
@ 24.6 g/t Au for 754.25 oz Au (source: GSWA Mindex database).

 

Figure 1. Location Map - Location of Eclipse Gold Project (red), which
contains the old Gindalbie townsite, and mining lease ML 27/158 (blue) which
contains the Gindalbie Gold Project.

 

The Gindalbie Gold Project consists of the "granted" area contained within
mining lease M27/158, which lies adjacent to Eclipse. The "granted" area
covers 643ha of highly prospective ground containing historic gold mines
located along a series of northwest-southeast striking mineralised trends.

 

February-April 2022 Drilling Campaign

At Eclipse, six diamond drill holes for a total of 999m and seven RC holes for
a total of 960m were completed, focused mainly on demonstrating that the gold
mineralisation persists at depth around the Eclipse shaft and Jack's Dream
shaft, and to test for continuity along strike between Eclipse and Jack's
Dream and to the north-west of Jack's Dream.

 

This drilling campaign confirmed that the gold mineralisation associated with
the NW-striking and steeply SW-dipping shear zone ('Eclipse shear') extends
through the Jack's Dream area and is now recognised over a strike length of
more than 500 metres, an increase in strike length of over 300 metres from the
previously reported extent of mineralisation along the Eclipse shear.
Importantly, the mineralised shear remains open along strike to the NW of
Jack's Dream.

 

An RC drilling programme was also completed at Gindalbie with the main
objective of testing for high-grade gold lodes within the transition and fresh
rock, immediately below or adjacent to several of the historic mine shafts
(and the small pit at Bud's Find). This programme consisted of 16 RC holes for
1,676m, targeting five distinct mineralised areas, selected based on the
location of historical workings, soil geochemistry mapping and previous RAB/RC
drill results, being Homeward Bound, Laurel-Bulletin, South Gippsland #3,
Golden Puzzle and Bud's Find (refer Figure 2).

 

Of the 16 RC holes drilled, six returned significant intercepts (refer Table
1.). The drilling at Homeward Bound produced very high grades and/or good
intercept widths within all four drill holes. In addition, significant gold
mineralisation was encountered at depth below the small open pit at Bud's Find
and a 3m wide mineralised lode was identified at Laurel.

 

Figure 2. Plan view of the location of the initial drilling targets and
previously reported significant drilling intercepts.

 

Subsequently, a single diamond hole was drilled at Homeward Bound with the
objective of determining the local rock type and structural geology.  A
partially weathered zone containing quartz veining was encountered, with a
significant intercept of 1.21 g/t Au over 1.75m from a depth of 67.5m downhole
associated with a distinct laminated quartz vein (refer Figure 3).  Laminated
quartz veins are common in gold deposits through the Eastern Goldfields
(Kundana and Norseman being good examples), and often show good continuity of
high-grade gold within hosting shear zones but may have "nuggety" or irregular
gold distribution at the sampled positions of the veins. From the initial
inspection of the drill core, it appears that the geological setting and style
of gold mineralisation at Homeward Bound is very different to that seen so far
along the Eclipse Shear and the various sub-parallel shear zones. At Homeward
Bound, the felsic volcanic host rock is highly altered, and the gold appears
to be associated with multiple quartz veins including laminated-style shear
veins.  In cross section a subvertical mineralised zone is defined by
intersections in GPRC22-008, GPRC22-009 and GPDD22-001. The high-grade
intersection in GPRC22-007 and other historic intersections further north-east
likely relate to a separate, possibly parallel structure.

 

Figure 3.  Homeward Bound diamond drill core samples showing mineralised
laminated quartz vein and enhanced weathering around the structure

 

 Hole Number  From Depth  To Depth  Interval (m)  Grade (g/t)  Target
 GCRC22_003   89          91        2             0.64         Bud's Find
 GCRC22_005   27          30        3             1.15         Laurel
 GCRC22_007   31          36        5             8.99         Homeward Bound
 Incl         32          33        1             40.90
 GCRC22_008   43          45        2             3.00         Homeward Bound
              68          69        1             1.32
 GCRC22_009   62          64        2             0.79         Homeward Bound
              90          92        2             0.89
              98          101       3             8.96
 Incl         98          100       2             13.28
 GCRC22_010   46          49        3             9.88         Homeward Bound
 Incl         46          47        1             26.20
 GPDD22_001   67.5        69.25     1.75          1.21         Homeward Bound

Table 1. Significant Intercepts from RC and Diamond drilling with an
Incremental cut-off grade >0.3g/t Au and >1g Au*m intervals.

 

 

Figure 4. Cross-section view of the Homeward Bound drill intercepts shows an
apparent sub-vertical structure linking intersections in GPRC22-008,
GPDD22-001 and GPRC22-009, and a separate zone of high-grade gold intersected
in GPRC22-007

 

June-July 2022 Drilling Campaign

Several high priority targets have been defined at Gindalbie and it is
intended to follow up on these with a further, more targeted drill campaign to
extend high-grade shoots associated with multiple structures around Homeward
Bound, and to test for mineralisation below Bud's Pit and around the
historical workings at Bulletin.

 

The planned drill campaign will include:

·    13 drillholes at Homeward Bound (total of 1,470m)

·    6 drillholes at Bud's Find (total of 750m)

·    4 drillholes at Eclipse (total of 700m)

·    2 drillholes at Jack's Dream (total of 220m)

·    1 drillhole at Bulletin (total of 150m)

At Eclipse, the drilling will focus on the extension of the Eclipse lode at
depth, beneath the old Eclipse mine shaft itself, as well as pursuing an
extension of the Eclipse shear northwest of Jack's Dream.

 

Competent Person Statement

The technical information in this report that relates to the Eclipse and
Gindalbie Gold Projects has been compiled by Ms Louisa Stokes, an employee of
Eclipse Exploration Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Empire. Ms Stokes is
a Member of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Ms Stokes is
employed in the role of Exploration Geologist and has been planning the
exploration activities for the Eclipse-Gindalbie project areas. Ms Stokes has
sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type
of deposit under consideration and to the activity being undertaken to qualify
as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the 'Australasian Code
for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves'. Ms
Stokes consents to the inclusion in this release of the matters based on her
information in the form and context in which it appears.

 

Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure

Certain information contained in this announcement would have been deemed
inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No
596/2014, as incorporated into UK law by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act
2018, until the release of this announcement.

 

**ENDS**

For further information please visit www.empiremetals.co.uk
(http://www.empiremetals.co.uk)   or contact:

 Empire Metals Ltd                                                                       Tel: 020 7907 9327

 Shaun Bunn /Greg Kuenzel
 S. P. Angel Corporate Finance LLP (Nomad & Broker)                                      Tel: 020 3470 0470

 Ewan Leggat /Adam Cowl
 Shard Capital Partners LLP (Joint Broker)                                               Tel: 020 7186 9950

 Damon Heath
 St Brides Partners Ltd (Financial                                                       Tel: 020 7236 1177
 PR)

 Susie Geliher/ Ana Ribeiro/ Selina Lovell

 

About Empire Metals Limited

Empire Metals is an AIM-listed (LON: EEE) exploration and resource development
company with a project portfolio comprising gold interests in Australia and
Austria.

 

The Company's strategy is to develop a pipeline of projects at different
stages in the development curve. Its initial focus has been on the high-grade
Eclipse and Gindalbie Gold Projects in Western Australia.  The Company
expanded its exploration licence area in April 2022 from 9.5km2 to 1,728km2
with the acquisition of the Pitfield Copper-Gold Project and the Walton
Copper-Gold Project in Western Australia, and the Stavely Copper-Gold Project
in the Stavely Arc region of Victoria.

 

Empire also holds a portfolio of three precious metals projects located an
historically high-grade gold production region comprising the Rotgulden,
Schonberg and Walchen prospects in central-southern Austria.

 

The Board continues to evaluate opportunities through which to realise the
value of its wider portfolio and reviews further assets which meet the
Company's investment criteria.

 

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