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Gibb flows into Eastern Goldfields

ctober brought another gold discovery in
OWestern Australia and another style of
mineralisation for the market to digest.
Three years ago, the presence of nuggetty-
style mineralisation in the State’s Pilbara cap-
tured worldwide attention as investors and
analysts scurried to the region to see whether
the conglomerate potential was akin to the
Witswatersrand Basin in South Africa.
A verdict on the conglomerate-style min-
eralisation in WA’s north-west remains in
progress, while the intrusive-related gold dis-
covered at Hemi by De Grey Mining Ltd, also
in the Pilbara, is being followed by the market
with more conviction.
Meanwhile, Gibb River Diamonds Ltd be-
lieves it has potentially unearthed something
new in the heart of the prolific Eastern Gold-
fields of WA at Neta lodes, part of the Edju-
dina gold project.
A maiden drilling campaign at Edjudina re-
sulted in “a major new shallow gold discovery
named Neta lodes”, the company reported in hadn’t been explored for before in the field Jim Richards’ Gibb River has an option to
October. where gold mineralisation is notoriously spot- acquire 100% of the Edjudina gold project
The announcement was made on the back ty in nature there. We had a few things come
of an intersection of 36m @ 4 g/t gold from together for this to happen and a geothermal lodes discovery was planned for the current
4m with the mineralisation – hosted in a soft model which hadn’t really been tested either. campaign, while Gibb would pursue other tar-
and friable argillic and hematite/limonite al- It was quite a powerful bit of project genera- gets if time allowed.
tered phyllite (no signs of sulphides) – open to tion we did, and we are good at that,” Rich- Cash has been some concern for the com-
the north, south and at depth. ards said. pany, which until the success at Edjudina had
An aircore programme of 1,250m aimed “There is a lot of noise out there at other been trying to land $2.5 million to conduct
at the Neta lodes extension target was being prospects and targets and I feel as though bulk sampling and trial mining of alluvial ma-
conducted when Paydirt spoke with Gibb ex- there are a lot of targets which are maybe not terial at Blina within the Ellendale diamond
ecutive chairman Jim Richards. top draw and I think that noise has diluted the project, West Kimberley.
“It is a new style of mineralisation and quality of our discoveries to some degree.” Richards believes that it has “major” dia-
Nevertheless, the success mond capabilities within its portfolio, however,
at Neta has driven Gibb to five- having reacquainted with Edjudina, where
year share price highs and Neta produced 16,710oz gold @ 47.4 g/t in
with the likes of the Gawler the early 1900s, the company’s path is cur-
prospect requiring follow-up rently being paved by a market in thrall of high
drilling and historic workings gold prices.
across 13km of strike, Rich- “Ultimately, the market is always right, and
ards sees potential for further the market is chasing gold,” Richards said.
discoveries at Edjudina. “We have about $1.7 million, the direc-
“The ability for us to contin- tors have just exercised $450,000 worth of
ue to build on the Neta lodes options and I have pumped a third of a mil-
discovery is considerable. I am lion dollars into the company in the last two
surprised that our share price months. Hopefully, that is a vote of confidence
isn’t higher given the shallow for shareholders that they have seen the di-
depth, grade and location; it rectors pushing their own money into the
ticks all the boxes really,” Rich- company.
ards said. “I think we are breaking new ground up
“The drilling is costing us there, finding new styles of mineralisation and
$150,000-200,000 and rea- doing things in slightly different ways to what
son for that is that the miner- others have done. Credit to the team here
alisation is so shallow. With at Gibb for acquiring the ground, making a
aircore drilling to get a feel for discovery and starting a second drilling pro-
Aircore drilling aimed at the Neta lodes extension target – a the strike, it is not like we are gramme and met test work all within a period
coincident gold-in-soils anomaly with calcrete cover that drilling 200-300m holes; we of three months.”
runs to the north and south of the Neta lodes prospect – are in mineralisation after 2m.” – Mark Andrews
started in November Deeper drilling at the Neta

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