Under the terms of its option and earn-in agreement with private Australian company
Essex is pleased to report it has now completed the first-stage earn in expenditures and has earned 50 per cent of KNX's interest in all three projects. The Company is now assessing its options with respect to the next stage of the KNX earn-in joint venture.
The 2020 work program and earn-in expenditure consisted of LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) surveys at
Essex President and CEO
"In addition, we have doubled the size of the Mt Turner property by staking adjacent ground which now gives the KNX joint venture the 14km known strike extent of the Drummer Fault. This represents a significant drill-ready gold target for follow up in 2021.
"We also paid the final property payment required to acquire the
The 2020 exploration achievements, including follow-up drill results from
The
Surface sampling was also undertaken on the Hook prospect in the north of the property and Hill 60, southeast of RBZ on the caldera margin. All rocks intersected in the 2020 drilling have been initially pervasively potassic altered and subsequentially overprinted by later stage phyllic and argillic alteration associated with silica flooding and veining. Late-stage carbonate infilling of fractures and veinlets is also evident.
RBZ South - Two diamond drill holes in and around the RBZ South Discovery Hole 1 (18.8 g/t gold and 160.6 g/t silver over 6.4m from 139.5m down hole, announced in September) encountered ore grade gold intercepts within wide zones of hydrothermal alteration with late-stage carbonate (epithermal) overprint.
- Hole 20RBZ-DD007 intersected 12.2 g/t gold and 13.4g/t silver over 0.5m from 186.2m downhole. This intersection is located approximately 50m northwest and 50m lower in elevation than the intersection in Hole 1. The hole also intersected 0.7m grading 0.2g/t gold and 3.7g/t silver from 16.3m downhole and 0.5m grading 1.38 g/t gold and 3.7g/t silver from 172.3.3m downhole.
- Hole 20RBZ-DD008 intersected 3.2 g/t gold and 4g/t silver over 0.5m from 160.5m downhole. This intersection is located approximately 10m south and of Hole 1 and 15m lower in elevation than the intersection in Hole 1
RBZ North - Two diamond drill holes were also drilled at RBZ North to follow-up Hole 20RBZ-DD005, 2.3km NW of Hole 1, which intersected a broad structural zone with multiple narrow intervals of low-grade silver, base metals and arsenic-peripheral mineralization before encountering a major fault at 104m downhole.
- Hole 20RBZ-DD009 intersected 1.5m grading 0.07 gold and 26.1g/t silver from 1.1m, 0.5m grading 2.3g/t Au and 117g/t Ag from 29m and 1m grading 0.34g/t gold and 1g/t silver from 134m downhole.
- Hole 20RBZ-DD010 intersected 0.5m grading 0.5g/t gold and 104g/t Ag from 60m downhole. This hole had poor core recovery in extensive clay altered breccia zones.
The Hook - a program of surface mapping and sampling was undertaken in November. Assays from rock chip samples averaged 1.5 g/t gold and 275 g/t silver (28 samples ranging from 0.1 g/t to 9.92 g/t Au and 0.5 to 2,160 g/t Ag).
Hill 60 – a program of mapping follow-up historical BLEG sampling was undertaken in November. Assays from rock chip samples averaged 1.6 g/t gold and 6.3 g/t silver (10 samples ranging from 0 g/t to 16.1 g/t Au and <0.5 to 46.8 g/t Ag).
The next phase of exploration at
Mt Turner
The Mt Turner property, 15km northeast of the
The new tenement covers the western extension of the Drummer Fault gold target which has previously been mined from shallow oxide open pits within a 2km section of the 14km of strike. The near surface oxide portion of the Drummer Fault prospects were previously explored by ASX-listed
A LiDAR survey flown by Essex in late 2020 revealed the vast extent of the structures hosting historical mineralization within the project area. In addition to the main Mt Turner intrusive complex, additional prospects identified are the Drummer Boy, Drummer Toy Drummer East and Rocky Reward along the Drummer Fault, and the Dinki Di and New Cobar prospects in the southeast part of the tenement.
Drummer Toy – rock chips sampling in an around Union Mining's pits in November returned assays averaging 5.11 g/t gold and 24 g/t silver (12 samples ranging from 0.4 g/t to 29.4 g/t Au and 2.0 to 49.6 g/t Ag).
Rocky Reward – surface sampling in December of untreated sulfide dumps and exposed pit walls returned assays averaging 9.85 g/t gold and 23.9 g/t silver (eight samples ranging from 3.8 g/t Au to 19.8 g/t Au and 10.0 g/t to 40.9 g/t Ag). Five of the samples were from the sulfide dumps and averaged 10.1 g/t Au and 25.5 g/t Ag.
Dinki Di – a series of northeast trending structure identified from the LiDAR survey. Initial rock chip sampling of old workings returned assays averaging 7.6 g/t gold and 120 g/t silver (14 samples ranging from 2.4 g/t Au to 36.2 g/t Au and 2.4 g/t to 315 g/t Ag).
New Cobar – a northeast trending1.5km long structure identified from the LiDAR survey. Initial rock chip sampling of old workings returned assays averaging 1.6 g/t gold and 162 g/t silver (13 samples ranging from 0.1 g/t Au to 9.92 g/t Au and 0.5 g/t to 355 g/t Ag).
Mt Turner represents an exciting drill-ready exploration target for 2021.
The property contains three drill ready targets within a major anticlinal structure displaying favourable stratigraphy, and cut by NNW faulting related to the
Within this structural setting there are strong multi-discipline geophysical anomalies, strong hydrothermal alteration associated with veins and two known breccia pipes, and very high pathfinder geochemical assays (As, Pb, Ag, Bi & Sb). Two of the three targets contain significant gold and tin anomalism (up to 1.28 g/t gold and 3.02% tin). These targets have had only minor surface prospecting, and none of the targets have had any drilling. Each of the target areas are between one to two kilometres long and 300m to 500m meters wide.
In November, a LiDAR survey was flown over the property to better define drill targets. In December, KNX and Essex exercised their option to acquire the southern exploration permit with and a final property payment of AUD$150,000 paid in
Assays
All samples from the first phase drilling program were processed in Townsville by ALS Global, an independent accredited laboratory. Gold assays are completed by 50g screen fire assay with atomic absorption finish, with the over limit samples rechecked by fire assay with a gravimetric finish. Silver and multi-element analysis is undertaken by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) with over limits assayed by four acid digestion with ICP-AES.
Table of Drill Hole Collar Locations
Drill Hole | Easting | Northing | Elevation (m) | Hole Depth (m) | Azimuth (degrees)
| Inclination (degrees) |
20RBZ-DD007 | 746700 | 7968744 | 240 | 212.8 | 038 mag | minus 55 |
20RBZ-DD008 | 746684 | 7968900 | 239 | 182.2 | 144 mag | minus 55 |
20RBZ-DD009 | 745829 | 7970764 | 245 | 145.2 | 264 mag | minus 51.5 |
20RBZ-DD010 | 745754 | 7970750 | 242 | 62.5 | 090 mag | minus 55 |
Total | 602.7 |
About Essex
Competent Person
All of the scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and/or prepared by Mr
President & CEO
Neither the
SOURCE
© Canada Newswire, source