Q2 results strengthen growth potential across expanding exploration portfolio
At Brucejack, drilling continues to enhance the resource growth potential at the Valley of the Kings (VOK) deposit and the surrounding area, with intercepts expanding the strike extent at the 1080 HBx Zone and demonstrating continuity at Golden Marmot which are located outside the current Pretium published resource.
At 1080 HBx Zone, drilling to expand the VOK deposit continues to confirm the continuity of higher grade mineralisation at depth and to the south, with 6 of 20 holes returning intervals in excess of 5 grams per tonne gold. Mineralisation now extends over 145m of strike length and remains open. Results include, VU-4624, 10.5m @ 917g/t Au from 235.5m, including 1m @ 9,618g/t Au from 244m, which is the highest grade returned from the 1080 Hbx Zone to date. In addition, VU-4626 returned 11m @ 269g/t Au from 173.5m, including 1m @ 2,954g/t Au from 174.5m.
At Golden Marmot, located ~3.5km north of the VOK, assays were received for a further 22 holes. Holes were drilled to infill the main zone demonstrating continuity of the higher grade over an area 100m wide, 200m long, and 300m high with 5 of 22 holes returning intervals in excess of 5 grams per tonne gold. Results include, SU-893, 18m @ 12g/t Au from 211.5m, including 1m @ 184g/t Au from 227m. In addition, SU-899 returned 1m @ 8,000g/t Au from 164.67m, which is the highest grade returned from Golden Marmot to date.
At Red Chris, drilling at East Ridge continues to confirm continuity and expand the footprint of higher grade mineralisation and strengthen the potential for resource growth.
At East Ridge, drilling continues to expand the vertical extent of the mineralisation within the Exploration Target area previously reported on 21 July 2022. Drilling has returned the deepest significant higher grade intercept at the project to date with RC857 intersecting 266m @ 0.43g/t Au & 0.57% Cu from 1,534m, including 34m @ 1.1g/t Au & 1.6% Cu from 1,706m. These results have extended the higher grade mineralisation, which remains open at depth, by a further 100m to a depth of more than 700m vertical.
At Havieron, drilling continues to reinforce the potential for incremental resource growth with higher grade extensions to the mineralisation in the Northern Breccia and the Eastern Breccia.
In the Eastern Breccia, results outside the current Mineral Resource are HAD134, 82m @ 2.1g/t Au & 0.25% Cu from 1,508m, including 30m @ 2.4g/t Au & 0.19% Cu from 1,540m, HAD163, 86m @ 1.2g/t Au & 0.04% Cu from 1,415m, including 26m @ 1.9g/t Au & 0.09% Cu from 1,452m and HAD167, 78m @ 1.9g/t Au & 0.19% Cu from 1,516m.
At the Northern Breccia, drill results include HAD098W7, 84m @ 3.2g/t Au & 0.14% Cu from 1,008m. Drilling is ongoing to define the extents of higher-grade zones of mineralisation.
At the new Spring Peak low sulfidation epithermal project in Nevada, initial exploration drilling has confirmed the presence of higher grade mineralisation in the Disco Zone with SP22-013 returning 34.72m @ 2.7g/t Au from 256.12m, including 2.01m @ 10g/t Au from 262.46m, 2.38m @ 16g/t Au from 275.26m and including 0.34m @ 70g/t Au from 275.96m. Mineralisation on the Disco Zone structure remains open at depth and along strike.
Melbourne, Australia—(Newsfile Corp. - January 24, 2023) - Newcrest (ASX: NCM) (TSX: NCM) (PNGX: NCM) Interim Chief Executive Officer, Sherry Duhe, said, "We are delighted by our ongoing exploration success at Brucejack, Red Chris and Havieron, with the latest set of drilling results continuing to support the potential for significant resource growth across each of these key projects. At Brucejack, we delivered some outstanding results with mineralisation remaining open across the Valley of the Kings deposit and Golden Marmot area, further supporting this exciting opportunity which is being aggressively pursued by our exploration team.
"Positive initial results at the Spring Peak Project in Nevada indicate further growth potential and we were also very pleased to add the Mount Coolon project into our pipeline during the quarter, further enhancing our impressive global exploration portfolio," said Ms Duhe.
Brucejack, British Columbia, Canada(1)
The Brucejack Property hosts the Valley of the Kings (VOK) high-grade gold deposit. The VOK is characterised by multiple occurrences of higher grade mineralisation over selected intervals hosted within broader zones of stockwork and vein arrays. Growth activities are focused on both resource expansion within the existing mine area, as well as brownfields exploration activities within 4km of the mine area.
Resource expansion drilling during the quarter was focused on targets in the 1080 HBx Zone and Bridge Zone North. A total of 7,665m in 33 drill holes was completed using 2 underground diamond drill rigs. Assay results were received for three drill fans in the 1080 HBx Zone. Assay results were also received from a further 22 drill holes at Golden Marmot, which was part of the surface brownfields diamond drilling completed last quarter. All other assays are pending.
At 1080 HBx Zone, assays were received for 20 drill holes (three drill fans). 16 drill holes intersected gold mineralisation, with 6 of the 20 drill holes intersecting higher grade mineralisation, in excess of 5 grams per tonne, including the highest grade intersection returned to date. Drill holes at 1080 HBx are collared within the current Pretium published resource for the initial 90 to 135 meters, depending on the orientation of the drill hole, and only results outside the resource are reported. The drill program was designed to follow up on the extensions of the high-grade gold mineralisation intersected in the 1080 East drill program (previously reported).
Results demonstrate the continuity of higher grade gold mineralisation hosted in the HBx Domain, sub-parallel to Domain 20, which is currently being mined in the VOK. Drill fans were spaced at 15 meters horizontally in order to rapidly advance this new zone. Assays received to date cover an area of 105m x 300m x 250m, and the HBx Domain has now been defined over a strike length of 145m. Drilling is currently in progress to test the HBx Domain further along strike.
Results for the reporting period include:
VU-4624
10.5m @ 917g/t Au from 235.5m
including 1m @ 9,618g/t Au from 244m
VU-4626
11m @ 269g/t Au from 173.5m
including 1m @ 2,954g/t Au from 174.5m
At Golden Marmot, assays were received for 22 drill holes. 11 drill holes intersected gold mineralisation, with 5 of 22 drill holes intersecting higher grade gold mineralisation, in excess of 5 grams per tonne, and include the highest grade returned to date.
The focus for the calendar year 2022 drill program at Golden Marmot was to infill the main zone identified in 2021 and began to step out from known mineralisation. Results to date have confirmed the presence of gold mineralisation within the main zone with dimensions of 100m wide, 200m long, and 300m high. Mineralisation encountered at Golden Marmot displays many of the salient geological features that characterise hanging wall domains in the VOK deposit immediately to the south. Future exploration drilling will focus on continuing to test the extent of the mineralisation which remains open to the south and at depth.
Results for the reporting period include:
SU-893
18m @ 12g/t Au from 211.5m
including 1m @ 184g/t Au from 227m
SU-896
1.5m @ 113g/t Au from 141m
9m @ 10g/t Au from 160.5m
SU-899
1m @ 8,000g/t Au from 164.67m
SU-903
1m @ 1,740g/t Au from 414m
Approximately 54,000m of resource expansion drilling and 35,000m of brownfield exploration drilling targeting mineralisation definition and continuity are planned during calendar year 2023 with three drill rigs operating underground and four drill rigs operating on surface during the summer months.
