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Highlights:
- Vertex Minerals Ltd’s Red Hill gold project is part of the high-grade historical Hill End gold mining zone situated in NSW.
- The company has received high-grade gold assay results for the first three diamond holes, VRHD001, VRHD002, and VRHD004, at the project.
- Shallow mineralisation over broad intercepts has been reported with visible gold, and grades reaching up to 30g/t over one meter.
- The present drill program at Red Hill comes as the first phase of a multi-stage drilling program set to target extensions of strike and depth to known high-grade mineralisation.
Vertex Minerals Ltd (ASX: VTX) has received its first assay results from the 1,500m diamond drill program conducted at its Red Hill gold project.
The drilling work has been commissioned to a specialist contractor called “The Drillers” under the supervision of the company’s geologists.
An Australian-based gold exploration company, VTX aims to advance the commercial production of gold from its NSW projects while adopting an approach that is ethical and environmentally sustainable. This company in its own words is Australia’s first truly environmentally sustainable producer of ‘green’ gold.
The drill program at Red Hill is aimed at increasing the mineral resource within 75m of surface. In addition, it is expected to pave towards a low-risk production plan restarting the processing operations at Hill End.
Important drill results
As per VTX, the planned 1,500m diamond core drill program targeted the stockwork and halo zones that hold the greatest potential. It is aimed to increase the resource by a significant tonnage while enhancing amenability to bulk mining methods.
Visible gold and grades up to 30g/t over one meter, as well as shallow mineralisation over broad intercepts, have been reported from the assay results of three holes.
The following are the section image and intersection results for the three holes:
Hole VRHD001:
Source: Company update, 31 October 2022
Source: © 2022 Kalkine Media®; data source: Company update, 31 October 2022.
Hole VRHD002:
Source: Company update, 31 October 2022
Source: © 2022 Kalkine Media®; data source: Company update, 31 October 2022.
Hole VRHD004:
Source: Company update, 31 October 2022
Source: © 2022 Kalkine Media®; data source: Company update, 31 October 2022.
The results have not only confirmed historical drilling at Red Hill, but have also identified surface mineralisation. Data on resource extensions has also been provided.
Importantly, the mineralisation shows considerable widths from surface, which per the company is amenable to techniques of open pit mining.
Red Hill in the past
The previous workings at Red Hill are relatively shallow in comparison with other areas of Hill End. This is because despite the extensive mining carried out in this project in the past, a high-water table acted as a roadblock for the previous workings.
The Mineral Resource of Red Hill forms nearly 1km of the 14km strike length of the Hill End Goldfield. According to a work completed in the year 2015 by Hill End Gold Limited (ASX:HEG), JORC 2012 resource estimate at the Red Hill Resource was 80,000 oz Au at 1.7 g/t to 150m depth.
The following table presents the Mineral Resource estimate for the entire Hill End Project:
Source: Company update, 31 October 2022
Metallurgy aspects of Red Hill
At Red Hill, the metallurgy is considered open to gravity recovery methods. The past test work has reported a liberation exceeding 90% of the contained gold at a coarse grind size.
The project boasts a 100% owned and permitted processing plant. This existing plant, along with high metallurgical recovery, positions the company favourably to develop a low-cost gold mine having a low environmental footprint.
Source: © 2022 Kalkine Media®; data source: Company update, 31 October 2022.
The way ahead
The Company continues to perform drilling, logging, and sampling operations, along with submitting samples to ALS laboratories in Orange. It will be announcing further results as they become available.
VTX stock was noted trading at AU$0.105 on 15 November 2022.
