A new geological model has enabled Yamana Resources (YRI-T) to increase the gold resource at the Gameta prospect on Fergusson Island in Papua New Guinea (PNG).
Yamana Executive Vice-President Dick Walters says the new model “has greatly increased our confidence that we have world-class targets here.” The new model has prompted Yamana to look close to the coast of Fergusson Island rather than high in the island’s metamorphic core complex, Walters says. Down on the flanks, a multi-tiered package of slide blocks of metamorphosed ultramafic rocks contains the mineralization.
“There is good potential at Gameta to locate a multi-million-ounce gold deposit in an epithermal gold system localized along a stacked or imbricated detachment fault zone,” says project geologist Brian Wakeman.
Placer Dome’s Misima gold-silver mine in PNG would be the closest analog to the extension-related epithermal mineralization in the D’Entrecasteaux Islands (of which Fergusson is one), he says.
Between November and January, Yamana completed 54 reverse-circulation holes (totaling 4,211 metres), most of which were drilled at an elevation of about 50 metres above sea level. Highlights included hole 191, which encountered 44.1 metres grading 3.9 grams per tonne. A check assay came back with 4.1 grams gold and 5.7 grams silver over that interval, including 5.1 grams gold and 10.8 grams silver over the last 27.9 metres of the interval. Hole 190 hit 6.3 metres grading 2.7 grams gold and 3.4 grams silver. Hole 192 bottomed with 17 metres grading 1.5 grams gold and 4.6 grams silver.
While poor ground conditions hampered the drilling efforts, several holes showed significant mineralization even without fully reaching their targets.
Hole 141 hit 33.3 metres of 1.3 grams gold, hole 144 hit 15.3 metres of 1.6 grams and hole 145 hit 17.6 metres of 1.9 grams; all three holes bottomed in mineralization.
Results from the drilling have increased the resource at Gameta by nearly 50% to 4 million tonnes grading 2.3 grams per tonne, equivalent to 304,400 contained ounces of gold.
Other areas of mineralization include the Wapolu gold mine, situated at the northwest tip of the island, which was operated for a short time by Australia’s Union Mining. Yamana, which now owns 10.1% of the Australian junior, called a halt to production at the mine.
Yamana holds an option to earn a 51% interest in all of Union’s exploration licences in PNG, including Wapolu, and can increase its interest to 75% if Union elects not to maintain its 49% interest.
The total gold resource on Fergusson Island stands at 682,500 oz. within 11.6 million tonnes grading 1.8 grams gold.
Yamana has suspended exploration activity on Fergusson Island in order to concentrate on its Santa Cruz silver-gold project in southern Argentina.
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