Lyell Overview
The Lyell project area is located just north of the Company's Buller tenement on the west coast of the South Island of New Zealand. Gold bearing quartz lodes have been worked at Lyell over a strike length of 5km. The most profitable and greatest producer of the mines in the Lyell Goldfield was the Alpine gold mine which operated until the early 1900's producing 96,500 ounces at an average grade of 16 g/t gold. Despite the extent of the old workings, no modern exploration has been conducted at the project.
Exploration in New Zealand is subject to a Joint Venture with local company New Zealand Minerals Ltd (NZML) which currently holds approximately 42% interest in all Auzex NZ properties. Auzex NZ manages the Joint Venture and all exploration activities.
The Lyell permit area is the northern extension of the mesothermal Reefton Goldfield that has historically produced 2.1M ounces of gold and now has new discoveries (Globe Progress) in production. The style of disseminated gold mineralisation associated with quartz veins that is being mined at the Reefton Goldfield, also has the potential to be present in the Lyell area. The main workings at Lyell are located in the middle of an anticline fold-hinge, which is part of the large-scale Lyell Synclinorium. Best gold grades are found where E-W striking, north-dipping faults cross-cut the fold hinge, leading to steeply north-plunging ore shoots that have been mined to a depth of one kilometre.
Auzex has collected a total of 511 soild samples from the Lyell gold prospect and analysed for a range of elements with only gold and arsenic returning significant values. The results of the soil sampling were highly encouraging with five assays over 1.00g/t Au and spot assays of 39.4g/t Au and 10.05g/t Au. The gold is also associated with high arsenic values up to 6,750ppm As, suggesting the anomalous gold is related to bed rock mineralisation, similar to that found at Reefton. This was confirmed by surface mapping that identified a continuous zone of gold and arsenic soil anomalism extending from Irishmans Creek to Eight Mile Creek over a 1.8km strike length. The soil anomaly straddles the interpreted trace of the anticline axis that hosts the historical Alpine gold quartz reefs and is associated with quartz vein stockworks that have been mapped over a 200m wide zone. The soil anomaly is open along strike particularly to the north.
Future work will include extending the soil grid to the north and detailed mapping for drill targeting. The results are sufficiently encouraging that drilling will be fast-tracked. Consequently land access discussions with the Department of Conservation have commenced.
