Zenith Minerals (ASX:ZNC) expands portfolio, secures Privateer gold project

Highlights

• Zenith has announced securing the Privateer gold project in Queensland.
• Rock chip samplings by Zenith’s team have already confirmed the presence of high-grade gold and silver at surface, with grades up to 3.5 g/t Au and 2.5 g/t Ag.
• Historical soil samples had outlined gold in soil anomaly with grades exceeding 20ppb Au over a 500m strike.

Shares of Zenith Minerals Limited (ASX:ZNC) rose more than 5% on 30 March 2022 after the company announced securing the Privateer gold project in Queensland.

Backed by significant updates across the lithium, zinc and gold projects, shares of the company have surged more than 50% since the beginning of 2022. ZNC shares offer a 52-week return of 216% as of today.

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Privateer Gold Project: The latest addition to ZNC’s crown jewels

Privateer Project Source: ZNC announcement 30 March 2022

In a latest, the granting of the wholly owned exploration tenement has secured the next gold project for Zenith in Queensland. Zenith’s new Privateer and existing Red Mountain gold projects are situated within the Auburn portion of a tectonic unit, Connors-Auburn Arc, which forms a part of the New England orogenic belt. The Connors-Auburn Arcs hosts numerous economic gold and base metal deposits such as the Cracow epithermal gold deposit, 70km west of Privateer.

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Commenting on the Privateer gold project, CEO Mick Clifford said:

“Project generation is a core skill of the Company, and we are pleased to have added an additional gold-silver exploration property to our portfolio through a 100%-owned exploration licence.

Drilling at Privateer over 30 years ago returned very high-grade gold and silver results, including 0.5m @ 28.5 g/t Au and 35 g/t Ag from only 58m below surface, which has never been followed up. The gold mineralisation style at Privateer appears to be a low-sulphidation epithermal with a well-known analogue being the Cracow Gold Mine located some 70 km to the west.

Rock chip samplings of chalcedonic quartz by Zenith’s team has already confirmed the presence of high-grade gold and silver at surface, with grades up to 3.5 g/t Au and 2.5 g/t Ag associated with epithermal-style quartz veins.

Also Read: Zenith Minerals (ASX:ZNC) widens mineralised footprint at Earaheedy

Rock Chip and Historic Drilling Results Source: ZNC announcement 30 March 2022

As per the Open File Report CR20431, Savoy 1989, historical rock chip samples at the project have already returned grades up to 3.95 g/t Au, 29 g/t silver, 793 ppm arsenic, 99ppm antimony, and 0.82ppm mercury. Furthermore, the historical soil samples had outlined a gold in soil anomaly with grades exceeding 20ppb Au over a 500m strike.

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About three decades back, limited sparse shallow drilling activity was conducted at the project, returning extremely high grades of shallow gold and silver results -

▪ 0.5m @ 28.5 g/t Au and 35 g/t Ag from only 58m below surface

Despite the good gold assay results, the diamond drill hole has not been followed up

▪ 3m @ 2.6g/t Au from 38m downhole (percussion hole)

▪ 2m @ 1.0 g/t Au and 70.5 g/t Ag from 64m downhole

The geochemical association of host rocks and quartz vein textures at Privateer indicate a low-sulphidation epithermal gold-style geological target, which is anomalous to the Cracow Gold Mine.

Zenith’s strategy

As announced earlier, Zenith’s team would focus on the EV metals project with non-EV metals’ assets, including base metals and gold assets, to be demerged into one or more new companies, which would be listed on the ASX. 

Any demerger plans are subject to the Board approval, tax structure favourable to the company, shareholders, the ASX, the ASIC and other regulatory approvals. Zenith’s shareholders will benefit from the in-specie distribution of the shares in newly listed entities.

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