Dreadnought Resources Limited published the initial Resource for the Metzke’s Find gold deposit at the Central Yilgarn Project.
Payne Geological Services Pty Ltd (PayneGeo) produced an independent resource estimate for Metzke’s Find. Dreadnought said the high-grade Resource is based on Dreadnought’s drilling.
Mineralisation was previously assumed to end at a cross-cutting Proterozoic dyke found just north of the ancient workings. In 2022, a drill hole exploring the continuation of the mineralised structure encountered gold north of the dyke. The Resource is still available at depth and to the north of the dyke.
The gold and nickel potential of the Central Yilgarn Project is currently being investigated. Further gold and nickel exploration is expected to begin in 2023 to make further discoveries to support future expansion.
Metzke’s Find is located 60 km west of the Ida Fault in the Illaara greenstone belt of the Youanmi Terrane’s Southern Cross Domain.
Metzke’s Find’s mineralisation consists of quartz lodes contained within a foliated mafic sequence and normally dips sharply to the west. Mineralisation zones are 1-4m thick and strike north-south with an inferred mild north dip of roughly 30°. Five distinct mineralised zones were identified, most likely indicating shoots produced inside a single planar shear.
According to Dreadnought, the development of regolith differs from the prospect. The deposit region has a relatively modest depth of considerable oxidation of ~5-15m, with a depth to the fresh rock of ~10-25m. The oxide layer appears to be depleted of gold distribution, with minimal mineralisation occuring in the transitional phase. The great bulk of mineralisation takes place in new rock.
The mineralisation has been interpreted and estimated to a depth of ~155m. However, the majority of the deposit’s mineralisation has only been drilled and is expected to be ~140m deep. The mineralisation is still open deep and to the north.
“The initial shallow and high grade Resource over Metzke’s Find is a solid foundation for future discoveries and growth within the widely unexplored Central Yilgarn Project. This represents the first ever Resource declared over any part of the Central Yilgarn Project which covers four greenstone belts. We continue to view Central Yilgarn as having significant potential for gold and nickel which will be progressed in the background while we continue to focus on rare earths at Mangaroon,” Dreadnought Managing Director Dean Tuck said.
