Gold exploration company, Glass Earth Gold has started a 5,500 m diamond drill campaign at the WKP gold-silver prospect located in Hauraki, New Zealand.
Initiation of the 2012 drilling campaign at WKP represents a significant milestone in advancing this project, wherein 100 m-wide zones of 1 g/t silver and gold, and high grade intersections 3 to 9 m of 15-60 g/t silver and gold have encouraged the exploration team. Results have shown that this project denotes a large gold mineralized system. The existing program will analyze the tenor and size of the wide mineralized zones as well as the connectivity of high grade intervals.
Glass Earth Gold’s President and CEO, Simon Henderson stated that the exploration activities in the WKP gold-silver prospect continues to show promising targets towards the south of the present drilling regions and higher grade intersections in existing drilled zones like WKP 31 9.7 m of 24.2 g/t silver and 17.2 g/t gold. The current drill campaign will analyze the southern extensions of identified targets and examine the potential of basement andesites and rhyolite as these are viable host rocks to profitable mineralization.
The WKP gold-silver prospect is a joint venture between Newmont Mining and Glass Earth Gold that owns 65% and 35%, respectively. The area is a huge mineralized alteration zone, located 10 km from Newmont's Martha gold mine at Waihi and situated 5 km northeast of the Golden Cross deposit. The drilling campaign is likely to cost $C3.3 million, where in Glass Earth Gold's share will include approximately $C1.2 million.
The WKP epithermal system remains exposed along strike and includes magnetic/alteration traits that are analogous to the Martha epithermal system. The WKP Central zone defines a 180 m-wide region with a strike continuity of more than 800 m. In March 2010, the Newmont and Glass Earth Gold Joint Venture began exploration program at the WKP prospect with drill hole WKP 24.