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Technical report on WKP released to exchanges
1 February 2013
A technical report by the junior partner on a major epithermal gold prospect on the North Island of New Zealand has been released to the Canadian and New Zealand stock exchanges.
The report by Glass Earth Gold Ltd (TSX-V & NZAX: GEL).is on the Wharekirauponga prospect, thankfully shorted to WKP, in the Hauraki goldfield and is 10 kilometres north of Waihi at the base of the Coromandel Peninsula.
The operating partner Newmont Waihi Gold is a subsidiary of global gold giant Newmont Mining Corporation and it holds 65% stake with Glass Earth holding the balance.
Glass Earth’s technical report said WKP Project is developing as a significant new gold discovery within a large low sulphidation gold-silver epithermal system that is about 1.2 kilometres by 1 km that is capable of hosting a major gold deposit.
Following on from historical exploration on WKP’s Eastern Zone, the joint venture has identified two other significant zones of mineralisation (Central and Western zones), and recently intersected mineralisation on the Eastern Graben structure where drilling continues.
In the Central Zone broad low-grade intercepts are a feature (WKP26 151 metres @ 1.2 ppm Au and WKP27 102.2m @ 1.1 ppm Au) with the margins of a voluminous rhyolite rock-type providing a focus of hydrothermal fluid flow and high-grade mineralisation.
The interior of the competent and homogeneous rhyolite rock has permitted regular fracturing and broad hydrothermal fluid flow with resulting consistent low-grade gold mineralisation.
This, Glass Earth said, contrasts with the East Graben structure, within the Eastern Zone, which is typically dominated by discrete veins. Drill core from 580m down-hole in WKP35 shows episodic high level crustiform banded veins, hydrothermal and tectonic brecciation corresponding with multiple phases of mineralisation, hosted on the juxtaposition of rhyolite and andesite lithologies.
Assays for this interval returned 7.9m @ 5.1 ppm Au, including 3.4m @ 8.3 ppm Au.
This style of mineralization on the Eastern Graben structure was new for this project and important because, there are strong similarities with major gold mines in the vicinity, namely Martha, Favona, and Golden Cross.
The broad low grade gold mineralisation within Central Zone and veins relating to the East Graben structure lie on a major north-north-east trending structure marking the intersection of rhyolite (west) and more intermediate andesite pyroclastics (to the east).
This is a district-scale structure, identified on magnetic and resistivity data and may represent the primary focus of significant coherent mineralisation in the WKP area.
The joint venture plans a significant search programme for 2013; further evaluating the Eastern Graben Structure and including an initial project resource estimate, metallurgical test work, rock engineering study, geophysics and a 2,500m diamond drill programme.
The estimated cost for this programme is NZ$2.7 million (C$2.2 M) and Glass Earth gold’s share would be $C800,000. ($NZ953,370).