en.Wedoany.com Reported - Everest Metals Corporation (ASX:EMC) has initiated a 16-hole RC (reverse circulation) drilling program on the E77/2383 license in Western Australia, targeting three priority gold anomalies. The license is located approximately 150 kilometers northwest of Kalgoorlie and 120 kilometers northeast of Southern Cross.
The block is situated just 1.5 kilometers west of Everest Metals Corporation's Mt Dimer-Taipan mine and 4 kilometers east of Beacon Minerals' Mt Dimer operation. It is wedged between two Beacon tenements and Everest's M77/515 mining lease, all on the same mineralized structure.
Drilling depths can reach up to 120 meters, with completion expected within two weeks, and sample assay results to be released in September.
The project is supported by the Western Australian Government's EIS Round 32 program, which reimburses up to 50% of eligible drilling and mobilization costs, capped at AUD 145,000.
EMC Executive Chairman and CEO Mark Caruso stated that the program provides an opportunity to advance exploration near existing operations. He said this EIS co-funded drilling program is an exciting opportunity to advance exploration at the Mt Dimer exploration project. Caruso noted that geological evidence suggests the mineralized system exploited at Everest's Mt Dimer-Taipan operation and nearby Beacon blocks may extend into E77/2383.
On the target block, this drilling campaign follows previous soil geochemistry, mapping, structural interpretation, and early reconnaissance drilling across the entire tenement. Soil sampling in 2021 returned gold values up to 430 ppb and arsenic at 420 ppm, delineating three significant gold-arsenic-lead anomalies. Everest stated that the strong correlation between gold, arsenic, and lead strengthens the rationale for follow-up drilling. The company has also mapped areas potentially hosting orogenic and BIF-type gold mineralization.
A key focus is Anomaly A—a 700-meter by 300-meter area previously subjected to reconnaissance drilling. It shows strong iron oxide and siliceous responses, hydrothermal alteration in mafic intrusive rocks, a north-south trending fault, radiometric anomalies, and coincident gold anomalies in soil. Everest stated that these geological features are similar to orogenic and BIF-type gold mineralization, akin to nearby deposits.
Reconnaissance hole TE25-01 returned 9 meters @ 0.33 g/t gold from 13 meters depth, while TE25-02 returned 2 meters @ 0.34 g/t gold from 17 meters depth and 3 meters @ 0.32 g/t gold from 92 meters depth. These reconnaissance holes encountered gold anomalies with quartz veins in clay-altered felsic volcanic rocks, possibly associated with shear zones. At greater depths in TE25-02, drilling intersected mafic and ultramafic rocks with iron-stained quartz veinlets, indicating a potential mineralized system. The broader Mt Dimer-Taipan area remains underexplored, leaving room for concealed gold mineralization beyond known deposits.
At the Mt Dimer base, the M77/515 mining lease has hosted mining and exploration activities since 1992. Everest took over the project in 2020, including the adjacent E77/2383 tenement now being drilled. In 2021, the first inferred resource for Mt Dimer-Taipan was reported: 722,000 tonnes at 2.10 g/t gold, containing 48,545 ounces of gold, and 3.84 g/t silver, containing 89,011 ounces of silver. This estimate covers laterite and vein mineralization above and below the 380mRL elevation.
Everest's current focus is on completing the 16-hole drilling program and receiving sample assay results in September. These results will reveal whether soil anomalies, siliceous alteration, structural settings, and reconnaissance drill intersections point to stronger mineralization within the broader Mt Dimer gold system.
