Toronto-listed Dunedin-based gold explorer Underworld Resources is halfway through a 12-hole test-drilling programme at its Golden Progress prospect near Oturehua in Central Otago.
Underworld, which has committed about $1 million in exploration funding during the next three years for the Oturehua prospect, is aiming at drilling an overall 1500m during the 12-hole programme, chief executive Adrian Fleming said yesterday when contacted at the site.
Samples recovered to date were being sent to a laboratory for analysis, and findings would be released once all assaying was completed, Mr Fleming said.
"The target is high-grade gold mineralisation at each of Great Eastern, Golden Progress, West of England and Dover reefs, which are typified by steeply dipping mesothermal quartz veins," Mr Fleming said.
The Great Eastern and Golden Progress mines came into production from about 1886 and continued spasmodically until 1929.
Production grades reported at Golden Progress were cited around 48.8 grams of gold per tonne (g/t), with total documented gold from the Golden Progress mine recorded at 4990 ounces.
Following a run of bad weather, which interrupted an earlier eight-hole drilling programme at Golden Progress in Oturehua, 45km from Oceana Gold Corp's East Otago Macraes gold mine, the programme was completed last November.
Mr Fleming said underground sampling at the Great Eastern prospect returned gold grades averaging 5.6 g/t over 21m.
At two other locations within the Great Eastern workings, grab samples from exposed quartz vein material in old workings ran 42.9 g/t and 76.5 g/t.
Underworld listed on the Venture Exchange of the mining-friendly Toronto Stock Exchange in March last year, raising $2.1 million.
It has prospects in Gisborne, which found no significant mineralisation from three test holes, and in mid-August last year was granted an exploration permit covering 1990ha near Collingwood, in Golden Bay.
A drilling programme has also been started at Underworld's Joker project, near Thames in the North Island, targeting epithermal gold mineralisation similar to Newmont's nearby Martha mine.
Small-scale gold mining was carried out in the area in the late 1800s, although total production was unknown, Mr Fleming said.
At Underworld's Yukon Territory prospects, the White Gold and Black Fox gold projects south of Dawson, planning was under way for a $1 million 2000m exploration programme, scheduled to begin later this month, Mr Fleming said.
"A vigorous programme of geological mapping, sampling, IP geophysics and trenching was undertaken by Underworld on these properties in the summer of 2007," he said.
At the White prospect, one trench returned 1.8 g/t over 40m, including 9.9 g/t over 5m. A second trench returned 1.3 g/t over 37.5m, including 4.7 g/t over 5m.
At Black Fox, grab samples at the Thistle Vein graded up to 10.1 g/t, while a 30cm-wide vein returned 9.6 g/t and 17.7 g/t, Mr Fleming said.
