Visible Gold..ATW discovers new gold zone at BurnakuraBeneath NOA 2 pit .
I don't think that this zone has ever been mined, so the high grade gold is still there..
Vancouver — Visible gold has been found in high-grade inter- sections at ATW Venture’s (ATW-V, ATWVF-o) Burnakura project in Western Australia.
ATW is refurbishing the old infrastructure and developing new underground workings at Burnakura, which is in the West Yilgarn goldfields.
The company is targeting production for March 2009 and plans to produce 35,000 oz. gold annually.
A recent 20-hole drill program designed to extend the NOA 2 deposit to the north and downplunge has done one better:
results indicate the presence of a new ore zone within access of the current underground workings.
The latest strong intercept came from hole 12: 16 grams gold per tonne over 23.7 metres, including 51.65 grams gold over 6.5 metres, from 123 metres down-hole.
Three other drill holes reported in the same news release also hit the new zone but returned only short intercepts. For example, hole 7 cut three intercepts: 0.5 metre grading 1.54 gram gold, 0.5 metre of 1.48 grams gold, and 1 metre of 1.21 grams gold.
In mid-September, ATW announced the first results from this new zone, which were more consistent.
Intercepts included 15.6 metres grading 13.37 grams gold, 4.3 metres of 5.92 grams gold, 3 metres grading 12.78 grams gold, 7.5 metres of 10.93 grams gold, and 4.5 metres grading 9.09 grams gold.
The new zone is 6 to 25 metres in apparent width, with gold mineralization confined to the diorite that hosts quartz vein stockwork.
It is open in all directions; ATW is now drilling updip.
The company is also revising its mine development plans to incorporate the area early on in mining, since the zone exhibits grades that are roughly 60% higher than the average grade in the NOA 2 deposit.
The project is home to a fully permitted carbon-in-leach (CIL) gold plant that can process 160,000 tonnes per year, as well as rolling stock, underground equipment, and a 90-man camp. ATW has finished rebuilding the crushing circuit and is now refurbishing the plant and building a gold recovery room.
The project comprises 15 historical open pits along a 12-km mesothermal shear zone. Historical mining concentrated only on oxidized mineralization.