The target is located 500m below surface, some 200m below Bendigo’s historical workings, and is close to the Swan decline.
In July Bendigo Mining NL intersected the un-mined Deborah line of reef and further drill testing identified two quartz veins within the main structural zone.
One of the reefs was bulk sampled in 1954 and from 130 tonnes reported assay results of 9.3gpt of gold.
Bendigo’s managing director, Douglas Burger, said the Deborah reef was associated with a major west-dipping fault.
“Drilling on the first section shows quartz and arsenopyrite over a vertical distance of 50 metres,” he said.
“Visible gold was seen in one drill intersection and samples of the first two holes into the reef reported sporadic anomalous gold assays.”
Gold assay results reported values ranging from 0.1gpt to 80gpt. These wide ranging gold values are symptomatic of the nuggety nature of gold found in the Bendigo goldfield.
The Swan Decline is now 3.5km in length from the portal in Kangaroo Flat and is at a depth of 500m under the town of Bendigo.
