Tenement
The Company’s Maguires Reward Project is comprised of a single prospecting license (PL 20/2318) covering an area of 200Ha. The project is located in the Central Murchison area approximately 50km north of the major mining centre of Cue. Access is via the Great Northern Highway and well-developed secondary roads.
Geological Setting
The Maguires project is situated within the Archaean Murchison Province, a granite-greenstone terrane in the northwest of the Yilgarn Craton. NNE-trending greenstone belts are separated by granite-gneiss domes, with smaller granite plutons also present within or on the margins of the greenstone belts.
The greenstone belts contain basalts, ultramafic and felsic volcanics, metasediments including banded iron formations and intrusive rocks. Outcrop is limited with transported cover over much of the area.
Gold has previously been produced from several small workings in the project area. The Old Prospect lies near the eastern margin of the tenement and the Maguires Reward Prospect towards the middle of the license. The most significant old working is within the area is the Old Prospect where several shafts have been sunk. Mineralisation at the Old Prospect is associated with talc-carbonate-sericite-biotite alteration adjacent to quartz-carbonate veining host by a strongly foliated carbonate-chlorite altered basalt.
Major structural feature through the Maguires project area is a NE-trending regional shear zone and is an extension of the Big Bell Fault, which splays into several discrete faults to the southwest of the project area and represent prospective gold bearing fluid pathways and trap sites for gold mineralisation. Click to enlarge.
Approximately 200m west there is a series of shafts and workings that run north-south known as Maguires Reward. Mineralisation is hosted by quartz (± carbonate) veining associated with a narrow shear zone in silicified carbonate-chlorite schist. Mineralisation at both of these areas is associated with brittle-ductile shear zones, which are interpreted to be secondary structures leading from the regional-scale structures.
Previous Exploration
The area has been explored both for base metals and gold since the 1980’s. Wide spaced soil sampling and RAB drilling led to more detailed RC and diamond drilling at the Old Prospect and Maguires Reward.
BHP Gold drill tested the Old Prospect and Maguire’s Reward (1985-1989) as part of their programme to test interpreted extensions of the Big Bell Shear to the north of the Big Bell Mine. Numerous encouraging results were returned including 6m at 18.6g/t, 4m at 5.12g/t and 6m at 4.2g/t at Old Prospect. Subsequently Newcrest (1992-1995) completed further RC and diamond drilling at both prospects with best results being 6m at 8.02g/t, 6m at 11.6g/t and 7m at 8.74g/t. Only limited exploration was completed at the project following this period.
Drilling at the Old Prospect the indicated that the mineralisation had a strike length of 600mand defined two steeply south plunging narrow mineralised zones (the northern and southern zones). A total resource estimate by BHP (non JORC compliant) was stated at 75kt at 2.6g/t. Subsequently, Newcrest released and estimate for the Southern Zone only of 35kt at 3.0g/t.
Only limited drilling was completed at Maguires Reward and no resource estimate was made despite best drill results including 4m at 18.4g/t and 2m at 6.02g/t. Further testing is necessary to define the scope of the Maguires Reward mineralisation.
Recently an Exploration Target of 1.5Mt at 2.3g/t (110koz) was estimated to 200m depth. Preliminary mining studies indicated that the mineralisation was economically viable to be mined, trucked and toll treated at nearby processing plants.
Click image to enlarge
Exploration Programme
The potential to rapidly define a JORC compliant resource for Old Prospect and possibly Maguires Reward will drive an immediate drill programme on the project. Drilling approvals are in place and drilling anticipated in May/June 2021. Simultaneously, initial mining studies will commence to enable a feasibility study to be completed so a mining reserve can be calculated.
The mineralisation at Old Prospect forms steeply south plunging shoots and given the shallow and wide spaced nature of much of the drilling on the prospect there is considerable potential for further shoots to be discovered and for depth extensions. Maguires Reward has been poorly drilled and again potential along strike and downdip exist that need further drill testing.
Programmes associated with mining approvals such as vegetation surveys and hydrogeological and geotechnical measurement will be undertaken as necessary.
Given the extensive cover over the tenement not all previous sampling and drill testing is considered to have effectively identified potential anomalism. Following a comprehensive data review, geophysical and geochemical programmes will be implemented to define further potential drill targets.
