The Bowdens silver project near Mudgee in central Western NSW is getting a more golden tinge to it with Silver Mines of Australia surprising on Monday with news of a large new area of interest.
The new, more golden area outlined is beyond the open cut mining Silver Mines of Australia has selected in its current planning and approvals processes with the state and local governments.
Bowdens is already the largest undeveloped silver prospect in Australia and the company plans to mine it via an open cut operation, but drilling in the past year in and around the planned mining area has turned up new grades of silver, lead and some zinc, but a lot of intriguing gold assays that suggest there is something there to mine.
In its ASX statement on Monday, Silver Mines said that following the release of a maiden underground Mineral Resource last year, “exploration has shifted to testing extensions of mineralisation outside the current planned open-cut pit design and testing for higher grades within the open-cut pit design.”
“Multiple areas have been targeted for extensions including in the north at Main, Aegean and Northwest Zones and in and to the south of the planned open-cut pit where anomalous gold has been identified.”
Silver mines said that it had received “significant assay results received from continued diamond drilling around the Bowdens Silver Deposit and from a re-assay program of historic drill pulp samples for gold.”
“The maiden underground Mineral Resource estimate at Bowdens Silver, for the first time at the project, included gold.
“Gold has been predominantly identified (previously) within the Bundarra Zone which is directly underneath the planned open-cut pit.
“Gold was also discovered in 2021 at shallow depths in the south and adjoining the Bowdens Silver Deposit, along with high grades of silver mineralisation. This area has become an additional target for gold and silver exploration drilling during 2022 and is named the Southern Gold Zone.
“The Southern Gold Zone is currently defined at 300 metres in strike and 200 metres width and between 15 to 85 metres in thickness. The zone is from near surface in the south of Bowdens and is outside the currently planned open-cut pit.
“The Southern Gold Zone will be assessed in future pit optimisation studies.
“Results have been received from diamond drill holes BD22042 and BD22024, which were drilled along strike of BD22029 north (180m) and south (55m) respectively. BD22029 has returned the highest and widest grade gold interval to date at the Bowdens Silver Project of 32.6 metres @ 2.09g/t gold equivalent,” Silver Mines said.
On top of this, the so-called Aegean Zone – which forms part of the recently estimated underground resource totalling 42.9 million ounces of silver equivalent – is throwing up interesting intersections of its own.
The zone extends from the base of the proposed Bowdens Silver open pit, situated beneath the Main Zone. “This mineralised zone is high-grade silver dominant at depth and is open to the north and east. The zone has a strike of 200 metres, is 100 metres wide and typically 50 metres thickness”
The company said the best results from drilling here is 16 metres @114grames to the tonne silver equivalent (89g/t silver, 0.07% zinc and 0.64% lead) from 251 metres.”
Silver Mines said the Aegean Zone and Main Zone both remain open to the north and down plunge to the northwest with drilling ongoing to define further extensions.
The market wasn’t impressed and sent the shares down 4% to 22 cents.
