Mammoth Minerals sets stage for Excelsior Springs drilling with high-grade gold, silver and copper samples

The sampling confirmed widespread mineralisation across the Imperial prospect and identified additional priority targets beyond historical mining areas that have not been tested using modern exploration methods.

Mammoth Minerals (ASX:M79) said the findings provided a foundation for the drilling, which is expected to target the Imperial prospect and surrounding priority areas.

Drilling will also test extensions to bonanza-grade mineralisation at the Blue Dick prospect.

New results from rock chip and grab sampling at Excelsior Springs included 22.1g/t Au and 8.4g/t Ag as well as 3.6g/t Au and 111g/t Ag. Another sample returned 4.4g/t Au, 7.2g/t Ag and 10.32% Cu.

The campaign also delivered numerous samples grading more than 1000g/t Ag, including one sample that returned 1631g/t Ag, 0.3g/t Au, 0.34% Sb, 3.8% Pb and 1.9% Zn.

Copper-rich results included 15.6%, 11.1% and 4.6% Cu.

“These latest results have exceeded expectations and reinforced the exceptional prospectivity of the Excelsior Springs project,” said Mammoth Minerals managing director Glenn Poole.

“The combination of bonanza-grade gold, silver and copper assays from previously unmapped historical workings and outcrops across the Imperial and Railroad prospects is extremely encouraging and has significantly expanded our pipeline of high-priority drill targets.”

“Significantly, these results show a high level of consistency across the sampled areas, providing further evidence of a large-scale mineral system similar to the nearby Tonopah West silver project, which hosts a resource of 8.29Mt at 462g/t AgEq and is currently being developed by Blackrock Silver (TSX-V: BRC).”

Site works are now underway ahead of RC drilling across Excelsior Springs, with the rig expected to arrive within the week.

The upcoming program will cover the Blue Dick, Buster and Imperial project areas, with a focus on multiple high-grade trends identified through recent field campaigns.

Previous drilling in an area adjacent to and along strike from the historically mined Imperial shear zone returned a series of significant strikes, including 28.96m at 2.23g/t Au from 3.05m, 13.72m at 4.74g/t Au from 30.48m, and 32.0m at 1.09g/t Au from 48.77m.

Blue Dick also represents a key focus area for exploration.

Mammoth has now defined more than 6km of prospective strike across the prospect, with surface outcrops and historical workings providing multiple priority areas for drilling.

Past surface sampling results at Blue Dick included 15,336g/t Ag, 7.46g/t Au, 2.53% Cu and 0.31% Sb.

Another sample returned 3945g/t Ag, 14.4g/t Au, 0.73% Cu and 0.17% Sb.

Results from channel sampling included 0.2m at 17,582g/t Ag, 0.75g/t Au, 1.72% Sb and 2.76% Cu, coupled with 0.5m at 3407g/t Ag, 0.54% Cu and 0.47% Sb.

“Our prospecting and mapping work over the last few months has returned some bonanza results across the Excelsior Springs targets, providing us with a robust pipeline of drill-ready targets,” Poole said.

“Prospecting work will continue across other targets in the mineral claim area, as we continue to improve our understanding of this metal-rich mineral system.”

A maiden JORC resource estimate for the Buster Mine zone is also expected to be released later this quarter.