Golden Dragon Mining has unveiled a stellar gold hit of four metres grading 17.6 grams per tonne (g/t) from a shallow depth of 44 metres, in the company’s latest drilling results from its Cue gold project in Western Australia’s rich Murchison Goldfields.
Results from the second-phase reverse circulation (RC) drilling campaign, comprising 24 holes for 1,900 metres at its promising Coodardy prospect, returned the high-grade hit within a broader 12-metre stretch going 6.5 g/t gold from 44 metres, in addition to a swag of thick intersections from shallow depths.
Thick Intervals from Shallow Depths
Multiple thick intervals from the program included 28 metres running at 1 g/t gold from surface, featuring 12 metres at 1.9 g/t and a 32-metre section grading 1.01 g/t gold from a depth of only 4 metres.
Other noteworthy gold results were 8 metres at 2.9 g/t from 28 metres, including a 4-metre slice clocking in at 5.35 g/t and a 4-metre stretch at 2.42 g/t within a broader 12-metre intercept of 1.36 g/t gold.
Extending the Mineralised System
Golden Dragon says the latest results have added to its Coodardy kit-bag by successfully extending the mineralised system, with consistent gold intersections across multiple holes confirming strong continuity and highlighting the prospect’s broader expansion potential.
The results point to mineralisation remaining open along strike and at depth, combining factors that could deliver a potential resource in the future, coupled with a possible shallow open-pit development.
“These results represent a significant step forward in our understanding of the Coodardy system, with the second phase of drilling confirming both the continuity and scale potential of the mineralisation,” said Golden Dragon Mining managing director Simon Buswell-Smith.
Buswell-Smith said the identification of a broad, shallow mineralised envelope hosting high-grade shoots is particularly encouraging for the company, given the strong correlation between the recent high-grade intersections and those from earlier drilling.
Comparison with First-Phase Drilling
The new results add to the bumper high-grade intervals encountered during the first phase of drilling at Coodardy, which produced solid gold hits of 8 metres grading 10.82 g/t, including a superb 4 metres at 21.37 g/t and a 24-metre run going at 2.84 g/t, featuring 6 metres at 9.78 g/t gold.
Management believes the latest 4-metre hit at 17.6 g/t gold correlates with the previous outstanding results from the first-phase program and supports the interpretation of a coherent high-grade shoot. The company says the results support earlier drilling, which pointed to a shallow gold system dipping east and gently plunging north.
The results confirm a broad, shallow mineralised envelope trending north-south, with discrete high-grade zones within an emerging interpreted high-grade north-east orientation that remains untested, opening the door to a priority exploration target.
Future Drilling Plans
Golden Dragon says it has now kicked off detailed drill planning to systematically test the expanding opportunity at Coodardy, while also pushing ahead with geological modelling across both the prospect and its highly prospective Behring Bore target.
The company recently reported several encouraging drill hits at Behring Bore, a large-scale target measuring 900 metres by 500 metres. Results included 20 metres at 1.11 g/t gold from 32 metres, including 4 metres at 4.36 g/t from 44 metres. Other notable assays returned 16 metres at 0.58 g/t from 80 metres and 12 metres at 0.6 g/t from 80 metres.
Geological Context
Gold mineralisation at the 612-square-kilometre Cue project is hosted within quartz veining, altered dolerite and chlorite schist. The high-grade mineralisation is interpreted to occur within stacked quartz-vein arrays that form structurally controlled high-grade shoots within the broader system.
The project sits in a gold-class region, along strike from several well-known mines, including Ramelius Resources’ 2.5-million-ounce Dalgaranga project.
With further drilling planned at the company’s two promising prospects, Coodardy and Behring Bore, against a backdrop of still-strong gold prices, success with the drill-bit could propel this mining minnow to a whole new level.
