RRAL - historic mine workings, Victoria, Australia

RNS Number : 0554M

Red Rock Resources plc

16 September 2021

 

Red Rock Resources PLC

("Red Rock" or the "Company")

Discovery of Historic Mine Workings in Victoria Goldfield, Australia

 Underground Work Begins at Enfield and Glasgow Reefs - Geological Similarities to Prolific Ballarat Mine

16 September 2021

Red Rock Resources Plc ("Red Rock" or "the Company"), the natural resource development company with interests in gold, manganese and copper, announces an exploration update from its joint venture subsidiary Red Rock Australasia Pty Ltd ("RRAL") which is undertaking gold exploration at its granted licences in the Victoria Goldfields in Australia.

Highlights

· Discovery of workings and well-developed adits and shafts at O'Laughlins

· RRAL begins re-entry programme at mines south of Ballarat to confirm lode continuity and grade

· These provide focal point for accelerated exploration to establish economic potential

· Geological similarities to prolific Ballarat Mine

· Diamond drilling scheduled for Q4

Re-entry Programme at Historic Gold Mine Workings

Following the successful completion of safety requirements, RRAL geologists are entering the old workings at O'Laughlins in granted license EL 007271 to complete investigations into the nature and extent of the gold mineralization originally exploited. No previous reports or indications of historical grade have so far been uncovered in the literature so this will be the first modern day exploration at these previously forgotten workings since the 1860s.

Other shafts and underground excavations in the immediate area will be included in the re-entry programme. it is hoped that a better understanding of the geometry of the lode systems along with an indication of the tenor of gold grades will be completed prior to diamond drilling scheduled for Q4 2021.

Geological Analysis of Recently Discovered Mine Workings

Geological observation at the adit entrances (see Photo 1) indicates a broad zone of stockwork style veining in a fault structure marked by a laminated quartz vein exposed on the eastern wall. Bedding appears to be striking north-south with the fault structure and adit orientation of 0200.  This can be traced along the entire length of the adit itself. The inferred fault structure is thought to be obliquely cross cutting an anticlinal hinge zone of tight, slightly overturned, east facing folds in Ordovician age meta-sediments.  These structural elements and vein textures conform well with the model of gold mineralization within the Ballarat/Bendigo Gold zone.  The geology is particularly reminiscent of the lode material currently exploited within the operating Ballarat underground Mine 15 kilometres to the north (see Map).

Photo 1 Main adit Enfield reef? at O'Laughlins. Note the zone of quartz stockwork in the mine back.  The adit is some 30 metres long and has associated shallow pits and trenches marking the line for the lode structure on top of the hill some 20 metres above the adit portal.  http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/0554M_1-2021-9-16.pdf

 Map: Detailed Plan of O'Laughlins Workings  http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/0554M_2-2021-9-16.pdf

A second adit and shafts has recently been identified to the east of the main O'Laughlins prospect in the small adjoining licence EL007507 which is currently under application. These hidden workings including an adit and shafts have also recently been uncovered and sufficient work undertaken to allow access for a first pass look at the rocks exposed within. (photo 2). Whilst granting of this licence is imminent, work in the short term will continue to focus on the known mineralization within the granted licence EL007271, however the discovery is instrumental in building the regional geological picture of gold mineralization within the prospect itself.

Photo 2 Inside hidden adit (Glasgow reef?) from circa 1860s  http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/0554M_3-2021-9-16.pdf

The combined width of the zone across both tenements comprising of at least two main north northeast trending lode structures is over 500 metres with further small historical pits and workings between the two major structures.  Identified quartz veining at surface between the two major mineralized structures is considered strong evidence for multiple parallel reefs trending north south over the width of the zone.

RRAL Exploration Director Dave Holden comments : "As the area is predominantly within an old pine plantation there is little to no exposure of rocks beneath the thick covering of pine litter, so to discover well-developed adits with shafts is an exciting development and adds weight to the proposition that this area was more heavily mined over 100 years ago than previously thought. The known production records of the Ballarat area in that period give only a partial picture, as much production was unrecorded.

This shortened time frame for advancing the project as a result of the discovery of historical workings in the area has the Company on a trajectory towards potential economic gold discovery on a time frame not often seen in junior companies". 

Background on the O'Laughlins/Scotsburn project

The O'Laughlins project lies immediately southeast of the Ballarat line for gold mineralisation. Ballarat currently has a producing underground mine and its immediate area has seen historical production in the order of 14 million ounces from alluvial, deep lead and hard rock mining in the region. The Ballarat Gold Camp extends from Creswick in the north  down  to below the RRAL prospects in the south.

The O'Laughlins project is thought to be on a similar line of mineralisation to the main Ballarat gold camp off-set to the east,but has seen little of the hard rock exploration and mining which historically remained focused at Ballarat itself.

Preliminary results from a regional geochemical survey undertaken by Red Rock recently produced well-defined arsenic anomalies in areas south of the main Ballarat and Scotsburn lines of gold mineralisation. From this, one advanced target has been advanced marking the southern end of the Scotsburn line of gold workings. The elevated arsenic coincides well with historical workings, structural trends and a potassic anomaly identified from airborne radiometric data from the late 1980's and confirmed the original broad target area identified by CRA exploration at the time.

Elevated gold in rock chip samples taken by CRA are in the process of verification by RRAL. Despite the soil and rock anomalism and abundance of historical workings no drilling has ever been conducted. 

The continuous strike length of the reefs mapped to date is approximately 1,000 metres but in a regional sense this prospect marks the southern extent of over 9 kilometres of mineralized corridor from Scotsburn to O'Laughlins. Recent field work has identified additional parallel reefs to the east of the main Enfield reef structure. 

Little historical literature exists for these workings other than a single reference to the gold bearing nature of the reef: "The Glasgow Reef is also about to be tested application having been made for a large claim on the same. It is anticipated that some difficulty will be experienced on this reef, in separating the gold from the sulphurets." (MINING INTELLIGENCE Ballarat Star Newspaper Jan 7th 1865).

About Red Rock Resources Pty Ltd 

Red Rock Australia Pty Ltd. is a privately owned joint venture company owned as to 50.1% by Red Rock and as to 49.9% by Power Metals Resources PLC (AIM:POW). 

RRAL holds a strong land position in the rich gold fields of Victoria, Australia as the result of a focused exploration strategy targeting high grade quartz hosted gold veins systems in a region where the exploration models and targets are well understood. The company has carefully assembled its portfolio of properties comprising a broad range from robust exploration targets to near term resource potential, all of which remain largely undeveloped by modern explorers.

With the first tenements granted only 6 months ago RRAL is already at an advanced stage of discovery building 3 promising gold prospects slated for diamond drilling late in Q4 2021. Still able to actively operate in the current global pandemic, the company has exploration geologists and field crews active in the field. This is coupled with a technical team holding an in-depth knowledge of Victorian geology including extensive underground experience gained from working in currently operating mines in the area.

The company continues to develop its advanced prospects as it awaits further tenement grants.  As it does so it will increasingly use project names rather than license numbers as project identifiers. RRAL continues to evaluate other opportunities that may add significant value in the near term.

The technical information relating to exploration in this report is compiled by David Holden, BSc, MBA, MEM, who is a member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists. Mr Holden has experience in the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration. Mr Holden is the Exploration Director of RRAL.

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("MAR"), and is disclosed in accordance with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of MAR.

For further information, please contact:

Andrew Bell 0207 747 9990                                                        Chairman Red Rock Resources Plc

Roland Cornish/ Rosalind Hill Abrahams 0207 628 3396 NOMAD Beaumont Cornish Limited

Jason Robertson 020 7374 2212    Broker First Equity Limited

 

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