The Alice River gold project in north Queensland continues to surprise after Pacgold intersected more high-grade hits.
The ARDH061 drill hole within the F1a zone hit 14.9m at 10.3 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from 242.1m, including a 4.9m intersection at 21.4g/t gold.
ARDH061 is an 80m step-out along the down-plunge projection of ARDH0264’s recent 17m at 9.3g/t gold intersection. This includes 3m at 25.3g/t gold.
Pacgold has carried out 30 drill holes as part of the drill program to date, with diamond and reverse circulation (RC) drilling exploring the F1a zone (Central Target). Assay results are still pending for 13 drill holes.
The junior has completed 6009m of diamond drilling and 6778m of RC drilling so far as part of the current drill program, with approximately 75 per cent of the campaign completed.
Pacgold will commence drilling on the Southern Target in October.
“Recent drill results on the F1a zone indicate a vertical transition as we progress deeper (100m to >300m) into the gold system, with more robust high-grade shoots being defined and displaying excellent continuity,” Pacgold managing director Tony Schreck said.
“Previous open-pit mining and shallow historical drilling (<100m deep) has only just ‘clipped’ the upper portions of one of the high-grade shoots, and our recognition of this important vertical transition in the gold system now provides an enormous opportunity for Pacgold, not only at the F1a zone but also along the >30km under-explored regional trend.”
Alice River’s gold history harks all the way back to the early 1900s, where it was first discovered in 1903 and mined until 1917.
A shallow open pit at Alice River was mined in the late-80s, when 30,000 ounces of gold was produced at 5.6g/t, and a further 3000 ounces was extracted in the 1990s.
After being held by a prospector for 20 years – where only limited exploration was completed – Pacgold acquired Alice River from a deceased estate in December 2020.