Marrakai Gold Project Application

22nd Oct 2019

Panther Metals Plc

 (“Panther” or the “Company”)

Marrakai Gold Project Application

Panther Metals Plc (NEX:PALM) the NEX listed, London based, exploration and development company is delighted to announce the granting of its first exploration licence in the Northern Territory, Australia.

Darren Hazelwood, Chief Executive Officer, commented:

“The granting of the Marrakai licence cements Panther’s entry into the Australian exploration space. Our stated aim was to target the commodity rich jurisdictions of Australia and North America. I’m delighted to confirm to the market Panther Metals has, once again, achieved its goals.”

Highlights:

  • Marrakai Project Exploration Licence Application (“ELA”) located in the highly-prospective Pine Creek Orogen, Northern Territory, Australia.

  • ELA covers an area of 10.1km2 and contains a series of gold prospects and geochemical anomalies.

  • Area recorded to have been the source of over 500 ounces of gold nuggets, the largest of which was 30 ounces.

  • Previous drilling in the area provided intercepts including 2m @ 9.32 g/t Au and 2m @ 5.74 g/t Au.

Description of Project

The Marrakai Project ("the Project") comprises a single licence application (EL32121) covering an area of 10.1km2, located 70km to the southeast of Darwin, Northern Territory.  The Project is well-located near infrastructure and the Toms Gully (15km away) and Rustlers Roost (18km away) deposits, which are owned by China Hanking Holdings Limited.  Toms Gully is a high-grade underground mine containing 1.1Mt @ 8.9 g/t Au (0.3 Moz); operations are expected to recommence in the near future.  Rustlers Roost contains 51Mt @ 1.0 g/t Au (1.6Moz) and is one of the largest gold projects in the region. 

The Project is located within the Palaeoproterozoic Pine Creek Orogen (“PCO”), proximal to a major NW-trending magnetic lineament (possibly a lamprophyre intrusion) along the Noonamah-Corroboree Trend.  Several gold prospects, including Chins Gully, Johns Flat and Jasons Rise, occur within the Project along a topographically low ridge which trends NE-SW across and outside the licence over an area of 7 x 1km.  Coarse gold has been identified in surface outcrop and subcrop occurring over at least 3km of strike within the licence, with a peak rock-chip grade of 50.1 g/t Au recorded from the Johns Flat prospect, located 1km to the SW of Steves Hill.  Several anomalous stream-sediment samples were returned from 2 to 3km to the SW of Steves Hill in the area of Chins Gully.  Significantly anomalous rock-chip samples (some showing visible gold after milling/panning) were identified in several other areas across the licence area. 

The gold prospects within the licence are located on the western flank of the major Marrakai Anticline, which occurs to the SE, within the same sequence that hosts the Marrakai Reef, Merlin Station Dam, Joseph and Stop 16 gold prospects about 20km to the southwest of the Project area.  Within the area, the Steves Hill prospect (located just outside of the licence) was the first to be discovered in 1999, following which 500 oz of nuggets were recovered; the largest of which were c. 30 oz and 23 oz.  The mineralisation consists of quartz veins hosted by banded greywacke and siltstones of the Burrell Creek Formation, which are metamorphosed to lower greenschist facies.  Quartz veins in outcrop are typically less than 1m wide and contain variable amounts of pyrolusite.  The siltstones have not been specifically sampled or assayed, although a trench on the northern side of the Chins Gully prospect yielded 0.5 g/t over 4m, which did include samples of host rock material. 

Rotary Air Blast ("RAB") drilling undertaken by Renison Consolidated Mines NL in the early 2000’s, in the area of Steves Hill, identified a deep regolith profile.  Results from no deeper than 6m from surface provided the following best intercepts, some of which were coincident with a saddle reef structure:

2m @ 9.32 g/t Au

2m @ 5.74 g/t Au

2m @ 3.46 g/t Au

2m @ 2.22 g/t Au

This drilling programme was followed up with Reverse Circulation ("RC") drilling primarily at the Steve's Hill prospect, which provided the following additional intercepts from depths of less than 36m from surface:

1m @ 2.10 g/t Au

1m @ 2.00 g/t Au

1m @ 1.44 g/t Au

The generally lower grade and narrower intercepts in the RC drilling are probably attributable to the down-dip continuity of vein mineralisation away from the hinge zone of a local anticlinal structure.  In contrast the typically wider and higher grade intercepts in RAB drilling are attributable to saddle reefs along the hinge zone of the same structure. 

The major source of the gold seen in the area is likely to be in an area of higher ground in an area of the magnetic disruption towards the east and south of the Chins Gully prospect.  This corresponds to another NE-SW trending ridge of Burrell Creek Formation before transitioning in to Mt. Bonnie Formation and Gerowie Tuff further to the SE.  This appears to be an area worthy of further attention due to the proximity of these lower stratigraphic units, which are known to host several major gold deposits in the PCO and are the most prospective formations on the basis of contained gold per square kilometre. 

The Directors of the Company accept responsibility for the contents of this announcement.

The Company
PANTHER METALS PLC
Darren Hazelwood, Chief Executive Officer
Mitchell Smith, Chief Operating Officer

www.panthermetals.co.uk
+ 44 (0)7971 957 685
+ 1 (604) 209 6678
info@panthermetals.co.uk
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