Annaburroo Gold Project Update

RNS Number : 3086S

Panther Metals PLC

08 July 2020

 

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PANTHER METALS PLC

(Incorporated in the Isle of Man with company number 009753V)

8 July 2020

Annaburroo Gold Project Update

Panther Metals PLC (LSE:PALM) ("Panther" or the "Company"), the company focused on mineral exploration in Canada and Australia, is pleased to announce the completion of its open-file desktop review of the wholly-owned Annaburroo Gold Project ("the Project"), situated in the Northern Territory, Australia.  The Northern Territory has produced nearly 464 tonnes (t) or 14.9 million ounces (Moz) of gold (Au), and there are currently over 8,001 documented gold occurrences and a resource inventory of a further 530 t (17 Moz) Au.

Highlights:

· Geological review highlights potential for further delineation of gold mineralisation within the project.

· Donkey Hill Gold Prospect yielded high grades of gold mineralisation, with rock-chip assays ranging up to 9.4 g/t Au, 33.1 g/t Au, 39.4 g/t Au and 61.2 g/t Au, with up to 6.5 g/t Ag and 9.0 g/t Ag.

· Trenching at Donkey Hill provided results including 5m @ 6.7 g/t Au and 5m @ 3.5 g/t Au. 

· Historical reverse circulation drilling results have yielded encouraging gold results from surface such as 7m @ 1.2 g/t Au including 2m @ 3.1 g/t Au.

· The Project remains highly underexplored, with over 95% of the current tenure area unsampled, and most of the historic exploration comprising wide-spaced sampling over the Annaburroo Dome.

· Central and western portion of the licence remain completely untested; previous exploration not considered effective in areas showing moderate to thick transported black soil cover, which potentially masks mineralisation.

· Major fault, anticlinal and synclinal structures remain completely untested in the southern portion of the licence, which remain high priority structural targets for future exploration.

Darren Hazelwood, Chief Executive Officer, commented:

"We are very pleased with the results of the first detailed data review over the Annaburroo Gold Project.  The high-grade gold mineralisation encountered at surface, along with historic trenching results, warrants extensive ground exploration across the licence area.  Over 95% of the current tenure remains underexplored with historical exploration having been focused almost exclusively on the Donkey Hill Gold Prospect. Major structural zones, which are known to host economic gold deposits elsewhere within the Pine Creek Orogen, remain completely untested.

"Panther has commenced the acquisition of all geophysical data over the licence area.  Following reprocessing, this will allow the delineation of new gold targets associated with the regional structures.  In particular, anticlinal structures elsewhere within the region host major gold deposits such as Brock's Creek, Chinese Howley, Cosmo Howley, Enterprise, Glencoe and Woolwonga, which have produced collectively 1.6Moz of gold.

The geophysical interpretation will allow Panther to commence planning of detailed ground exploration programmes.  The supporting electro-magnetic, magnetic and structural data will allow a greater understanding of the potential controls of gold deposition and therefore assist in precise targeting for these areas."

Project Details

The Annaburroo Gold Project ("the Project") comprises a single granted licence (EL32140) covering an area of 149.8km², 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 (Figure 1).  Toms Gully is a high-grade underground mine containing a resource of 1.1Mt @ 8.9 g/t Au (0.3 Moz); operations are expected to recommence from 2020.  Rustlers Roost contains a resource of 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"), which hosts over 250 gold occurrences and several operating gold mines.

Newmont Australia Ltd discovered the Donkey Hill Gold Prospect in 1992, by detailed mapping and prospecting in the follow-up of anomalous regional stream-sediment samples.  The prospect is centred on a set of sulphidic quartz veins which outcrop intermittently over a strike length of 160m on the eastern limb of the Annaburroo Dome (Figure 2).  Gold assays up to 39.4 g/t Au were returned from grab samples of the main sub-cropping vein. 

A series of five trenches (totalling 165m) were excavated across the strike of the main quartz vein set at Donkey Hill.  Trench TR 10275 was extended 65m to the east in the siltstone to confirm for gold-bearing quartz stockwork beneath an area obscured by soil and iron-rich siltstone.  Five-metre chip samples were collected from the lower trench walls which confirmed the mineralisation within the veins, resulting in 5m @ 0.7 g/t Au in TR 10275N, 5m @ 6.68 g/t Au in TR 10250N, and 5m @ 3.46 g/t Au in TR 10200N.  The trenches confirmed the existence of 3 main quartz veins sets, dipping steeply to the east.

Four reverse circulation ("RC") drill holes were completed at Donkey Hill, totalling 224m.  All holes intersected the mineralised quartz vein system.  Drill holes RCD-1 and RCD-2 were designed to test the zone beneath the trench sample which had returned 5m @ 6.68 g/t Au, although the best drill- intercept returned from hole RCD-3 which was drilled beneath a trench result of only 0.16 g/t Au.  RCD-3 included (from 28 to 35m) 7m @ 1.23 g/t Au, including 2m @ 3.10 g/t Au.  The drilling intersected the near-vertical quartz vein system and the gold mineralisation was noted to be accompanied by lead values up to 0.82% Pb.

From 2008 until 2011, Territory Iron and Territory Resources Ltd, conducted extensive surface soil-sampling and rock-chip geochemical programs.  Results were encouraging with peak rock chip gold results of 9.4 g/t Au and 3.2 g/t Au, supported by arsenic and base metal results. Although the highest values were from quartz/arsenopyrite/pyrite veins at the historical Donkey Hill prospect, several strongly anomalous values of gold and arsenic were recorded along the entire outcropping anticline and this warranted further work.  Nineteen selective surface rock-chip samples were also taken on a transect along the southern axis of the anticline and around the central crest of the anticline. Two outstanding results were 61.2 g/t Au and 9.0 g/t Ag from the Donkey Hill area and 0.27 g/t Au from a large outcropping quartz vein 3.8 km to the north.

During December 2012, Rum Jungle Resources Ltd through the operator, Uranex Ltd, conducted a very limited rock-chip sampling program over Donkey Hill (total of 4 samples) near previous anomalies, in which high-grade surface gold was discovered.  One sample returned 33.05 g/t Au and 6.50 g/t Ag from black boxwork gossaniferous material.

Based on this review, Panther recognise that the Annaburroo Gold Project is highly prospective for orogenic gold bearing systems and has excellent potential for delineation of significant gold deposits.  The Project area clearly remains underexplored (over 95% of the current tenure area), with extensive exposures of highly prospective geological units which have yielded gold deposits elsewhere within the PCO.  Most of the exploration was concentrated around Donkey Hill, with wide spaced sampling over the Annaburroo Dome.  Major fault, anticlinal and synclinal structures remain completely untested in the southern portion of EL23140 - these remain high priority structural targets as these geological feature host economic gold mineralisation elsewhere within the PCO. 

http://www.panthermetals.co.uk/images/2020/Geomap-Marrakai-Annaburoo.png

Figure 1: Regional geological map of the Marrakai and Annaburroo gold projects, showing the distribution of mineral deposits in the vicinity. 

https://www.panthermetals.co.uk/images/2020/Geomap-geochem.png

Figure 2: Summary geological map of the Annaburroo Project, showing the distribution of historical geochemical samples, key surface sampling and drilling results. 

Competent Persons Statement

The information in this report that relates to Exploration Results together with any related assessments and interpretations is based on information compiled by Mr. Pedro Kastellorizos, geological consultant to the Company based in Darwin, Northern Territory.  Mr Kastellorizos is a Member of the AusIMM; who has sufficient experience relevant to the styles of mineralisation under consideration and to the activity being reported to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves.

Mr. Kastellorizos has verified the data disclosed in this release and consents to the inclusion in this release of the matters based on the information in the form and context in which it appears.

Panther Metals PLC:

Darren Hazelwood, Chief Executive Officer:   [phone] and [phone]

Mitchell Smith, Chief Operating Officer:                   [phone]

Brokers:

SI Capital Limited

Nick Emerson                                                           [phone]

Peterhouse Capital Limited

Guy Miller and Duncan Vasey                                  [phone]

 

END

 

 

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