Oropa updates Pungkut gold project drilling activity
Thursday, October 16 2008 - 01:10 AM WIB
Broad intervals of gold in regolith and primary jasperoid mineralisation were encountered in drilling targeting gold in regolith discovered during test-pitting to the east of the main Sihayo 1 North Inferred Resource. These results add to those released on the 8th September 2008, and increase the known Old Camp mineralised strike length to 200m.
Latest significant results from drilling at the Old Camp area include:
SHDD188: 8m @ 3.08 g/t Au from 34m
SHDD119: 7m @ 1.75 from g/t Au from 10m
SHDD120: 13m @ 4.23 from g/t Au from 6m and 3.6m @ 3.09 from g/t Au from 21.4m
Exploration at the Old Camp Area has followed up on a concealed target to the north-east of the Sihayo 1 North resource that was previously interpreted to have been closed off by a fence of drill holes completed by Oropa in 2005. A number of test pits dug to depths of approximately 7m outlined significant gold in the regolith profile. Drilling was initiated to test the extent of regolith and a possible source of the mineralisation. To date, nine holes have been drilled (including SHDD119 which failed to reach target depth, and was replicated by nearby SHDD120).
This nine hole program has encountered significant near surface gold mineralisation in both thick regolith cover, and in in-situ jasperoid developed within silty-limestone over a 200m strike length. The silty-limestone appears to have formed in a deep channel, situated behind what may have been a limestone reef (now marble) to the north-east of the main resource. The south-western contact of the silty-limestone is bounded by a disconformity with volcanics. Further drilling along strike in both directions is warranted, as there is no outcrop in the area, with bedrock either obscured by regolith or Tertiary sediments.
Similar style jasperoid in silty-limestone has been observed 600m along strike to the north-west at Sihayo 2, where extensive outcropping jasperoid was previously drill tested by Oropa in 2004 . The seven widely spaced holes largely failed to intersect the outcropping jasperoid and follow up drilling was not conducted due to the lower gold grades encountered in the initial drilling. The potential exists to follow the higher grade Old Camp Area style mineralisation along strike to Sihayo 2. Similarly, 400m to the south-east of the Old Camp Area, drill hole SHDD023 encountered 4.2m @ 3.36 g/t Au from 10.55m in jasperoid at the Tertiary sediment - Permian limestone contact.
Consequently, the Old Camp mineralised trend may extend over a strike length of more than 1.4 km from Sihayo 2 to SHDD023. Furthermore, to the north-east and east of the Old Camp Area is an extensive area blanketed by Tertiary sediments that are interpreted to be thin (supported by geological and ground magnetic interpretation) with good potential for additional concealed mineralisation. The Old Camp Area discovery opens up the exploration potential in a large and as yet unexplored portion of the Sihayo mineralisation trend. (end of edited release)