Gold miner Oceana Gold said yesterday it had promising results from drilling at two New Zealand prospects.
The company said exploratory drilling from its Crushington Prospect near Reefton on the West Coast and its existing Macraes Goldfield near Dunedin had increased its confidence of high grade gold tobe found in both areas.
"We are pleased with these encouraging exploration results from Reefton and Macraes," chief executive Stephen Orr said. "They continue to provide confirmation that our geological models are allowing us to successfully target more prospective areas within the Reefton and Macraes Goldfields."
He said the company's aim was to discover satellite deposits that would provide extra ore for Oceana's processing plants at its Globe-Progress near Reefton and Macraes mines.
The Crushington group of mines were originally exploited between the 1880s and early 1900s for high grade gold, typically yielding 12-17 grams per tonne from its steeply-dipping quartz lodes. A spokesman said some of the intercepts were close to the historic extractions.
Total production from the major mines was around 390,000 ounces (11,056,317gm), making it the third largest producer in the Reefton Goldfield.
CRA Exploration sampled the area for re-working in the mid-1980s but did not proceed.
Testing of the Crushington area started in March and six holes have been completed and drill core sample results indicate the area contains zones of high-grade mineralisation likely associated with the quartz lodes plus nearby lower-grade sulphide associated mineralisation.
Oceana hopes to process ore from the mine through its new processing plant at Globe-Progress.
Sixteen holes have been drilled at Frasers near the Macraes mine.
