Lighthouse Gold Project Update

By October 30, 2017March 6th, 2018news

Papua Mining plc
(“Papua” or “the Company”)
Lighthouse Gold Project Update

Papua Mining (LON: PML), the gold and copper exploration company, is pleased to provide shareholders with an update on its recently-acquired and 100% owned Lighthouse Gold Project (the “Lighthouse Project”) in Queensland, Australia.

Highlights:

  • The Company is currently undertaking a review of historical drilling in preparation for ground exploration at the Lighthouse Project;
  • This on-going review highlights gold and silver mineralisation near surface and at considerable depth at the Plateau Prospect;
  • Deepest down-hole intersection of gold so far is 685 metres below surface, which the Company believes indicates potential for a mineralised gold system commencing at surface and extending to substantial depths;
  • Reverse circulation drilling programme is planned to test the near-surface, potentially exploitable extent of the mineralised gold system;
  • Statutory landowner access agreements are being sought to enable a drilling programme to be undertaken and site work is being planned to prepare drill sites.

Chief Executive Officer of Papua Mining, David Price commented: “The Lighthouse Project provides the Company with an outstanding opportunity to capitalise on excellent historical drilling results.

Having near-surface gold and a single deep drill hole which has intersected gold more than half a kilometre below surface is a unique opportunity for Papua.

The Company is undertaking an on-going review of all historical data to target the upper zones of the gold prospect initially, where multiple, quality intersections of gold and silver have been encountered within the top 80 metres. Papua is targeting a Maiden Ore Resource to comply with the guidelines of the JORC Code for Reporting of Mineral Resources.”

Further information from the review of the existing data on the Lighthouse Project, which is still on-going, is set out below:

Plateau prospect hosts veins and gold/silver-bearing breccias which have been drilled historically. Some of the better drilling intersections identified previously include 89m @ 1.6g/t Au and 44.5g/t Ag from 61m (hole PL102), 11m @ 2.0g/t Au and 14.3g/t Ag from 44m (hole PLP127) and 8m @ 3.4g/t Au and 10.1g/t Ag from 39m (PLP130). The Company believes that the historic drilling activity has produced highly-promising results within the top 80 metres from surface, and this data will be considered in detail as part of the Company’s review of the Lighthouse Project.

The review has identified a single diamond hole drilled by Newcrest Mining in 2007 which intersected 4m @ 0.70g/t Au and 2.2g/t Ag from 643m (hole PLDD06001), which is more than 500m directly below the drilled gold mineralisation near surface. This provides clear evidence that a mineralised gold and silver system exists more than half a kilometre below surface.

A second, deeper zone has also been identified in the same diamond hole (PLDD06001) which intersected 3m @ 0.21g/t Au and 12.7g/t Ag from 685m. This intersection opens the possibility for multiple, stacked lodes.However, Papua is currently focussed on the shallower, potentially exploitable targets that occur at Plateau.

The Lighthouse Project is located 50km southeast of the important gold mining centre of Charters Towers (+6Mozs gold), 20km east of the Mt Leyshon Gold Mine (4Moz gold on Care & Maintenance) and only 17km east of the operating Pajingo Gold Mine (3.7Moz gold). Papua is targeting a similar size and style of deposit as Mt Leyshon**.

** This is an Exploration Target and the potential quantity and grade is conceptual in nature. There has been insufficient exploration to estimate a Mineral Resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the estimation of a Mineral Resource.

More than 4,500 metres of drilling has been completed within the Lighthouse Project tenement, which comprises a number of individual prospects including; Plateau, Double Event, Bluff Creek, Lower Lighthouse and Cardigan Dam prospects.

Papua plans to undertake a reverse circulation drilling program at Plateau and is currently surveying the planned drill holes in an effort to commence drilling prior to the start of the wet season in northern Australia. The commencement of the wet season is not predictable and it is therefore possible that drilling at Plateau will instead take place immediately following the wet season.

Statutory landowner access agreements are currently being sought to permit drilling activities at the Lighthouse Project, in conjunction with landowner access agreements for geophysical and geochemical work planned for the Marengo and Copperhead Projects, also in Queensland. The market will be updated once these agreements are in place and the Company is ready to commence field work.

Competent Person Statement:

Information in this announcement that relates to exploration results is based on information compiled by Mr David Price, a Director of Papua Mining plc, who is a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (FAusIMM). Mr Price has sufficient experience relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which has been undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined by the 2012 Edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (the JORC Code) and under the AIM Rules – Note for Mining and Oil & Gas Companies. Mr Price consents to the inclusion in the announcement of the matters based on their information in the form and context in which it appears.

For further information on the Company please visit www.rockfireresources.com or contact the following:

Papua Mining plcDavid Price

Chief Executive Officer

david@rockfireresources.com
Cenkos Securities plcNominated Adviser & Broker,

Derrick Lee/Beth McKiernan

 

  +44 131 220 6939

This information is provided by RNS

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