Solstice Minerals confirms gold anomalism in maiden RC drilling at Edjudina Range

Solstice Minerals (ASX: SLS) has announced positive results from the first-ever reverse circulation (RC) drilling campaign at the emerging Edjudina Range prospect within its Yarri gold project in Western Australia.

The drilling was part of a campaign that included at the advanced Statesman Well prospect 9 kilometres along strike to the south-east from Edjudina and the Bluetooth prospect 24km to its north-west.

Two initial holes at Statesman Well and Bluetooth gave the company a first look at fresh rock geology below strong historic aircore results, which were associated with quartz veining and alteration zones.

Quartz veining

Four-metre composite sampling from these holes returned a best assay of 20m at 1.02 grams per tonne gold from 36m and provided strong support for nearby aircore drill intercepts.

These included 2m at 3.17g/t gold, 4m at 1.53g/t gold and a widespread anomaly grading more than 0.10g/t gold.

Solstice believes the mineralisation in the first hole is coincident with a zone of iron- and manganese-stained quartz veins, carbonate alteration and arsenic pathfinder anomalism in oxidised mafic-ultramafic schist, while the second hole intersected variably carbonate-altered mafic-ultramafic schist.

A field review of aircore drilling to date has confirmed similar quartz veining, alteration and arsenic anomalism associated with gold anomalism along a 1,000m strike length, with the system remaining open in both directions.

Yarri prospectivity

Solstice managing director Nick Castleden said the Edjudina Range assays confirmed the Yarri project’s continued prospectivity.

“Delivering 20m at 1.02g/t in a first-ever reverse circulation test of a brand-new gold surface is excellent work by our field team and a validation of our strategy to go out and test new soil-covered structural targets in the infrastructure-rich Yarri setting,” he said.

“We look forward to getting the rigs back to continue to open up Edjudina Range and we are also keen to see how the Statesman Well and Bluetooth systems evolve, as they offer further significant opportunities to define commercial resource ounces at shallow depths.”

Follow-up drilling

Mr Castleden said a follow-up drilling campaign would include potential scissor holes to confirm the orientation of the mineralised zone at Edjudina Range, as well as step-out RC holes on traverses to the north and south.

The company is also working on an expanded aircore program to follow up open-ended mineralisation on existing drill sections and step out to the north and south along the prospective litho-structural corridor.

The company expects to receive assay results from the rest of the campaign soon as part of a stream of news as it mobilises a number of rigs in the coming weeks.