Southern gold producer Glass Earth Gold has entered a $4 million joint venture with Newmont Mining to undertake a drilling programme at a gold and silver prospect in Hauraki, in the North Island.
Glass Earth has a 35% share in the programme. During the year, it is intended to drill a total 5500m within the 3km by 5km prospect WKP, which lies 10km from Newmont's Martha gold mine in Waihi.
In Otago, Glass Earth is close to beginning the last of three alluvial gold production operations in the Ida Valley and two in the Manuherikia valley.
Glass Earth chief executive Simon Henderson said the joint venture WKP prospect had been encouraged by earlier exploration showing broad zones of about 100m of 1g/t (grammes of gold per tonne) gold and silver, and also "significant high grade" intersections from between 3m and 9m of core samples showing between 15g/t to 60g/t gold and silver.
"Results to date have demonstrated that this project represents a very large gold mineralised system.
"The current programme will test both the size and tenor of broad mineralised zones and connectivity of high grade intervals," Mr Henderson said in a statement.
The WKP prospect continued to demonstrate new "enticing" targets south of the present drilling areas and higher grade intersections within the drilled zones, such as 9.7m of 17.2g/t gold and 24.2g/t silver, Mr Henderson said.
Glass Earth and Newmont also have another joint venture in the region, Waihi West, which Newmont is managing.
Glass Earth is exploring its Muirs Reef prospect, with "encouraging" intersections of 2m of 38.4 g/t and 49.2 g/t of silver.
