Highlights

• Recent re-assaying of diamond core from the 2008 drilling program at Santa Teresa confirmed intersections of high-grade gold, including ‘bonanza’ grade hits – Significant intersections included:
  • 1.0m at 132.0g/t gold from 112.7m (ST-0013)
  • 1.0m at 52.8g/t gold from 20.0m (ST-0003)
  • 1.0m at 27.9g/t gold from 142.0m (ST-0026)
  • 1.0m at 24.9g/t gold from 217.0m (ST-0001)
• In addition, 37 samples were taken at surface from mullock dump material, rock chips and surface outcrop of previously unmapped veins, returning gold results up to 9.5g/t
• Mapping and sampling of rocks and soils suggests that a subsequent intrusive event has resulted in epithermal overprinting of the original orogenic / mesothermal gold system
• Initial metallurgical test work results on material from historical sample pulps indicates most of the gold is ‘free milling’, producing recoveries of over 90% with a simple gravity and flotation circuit

Comet Resources Limited (ASX:CRL or “CRL”) is pleased to announce the results of several work programs at its Santa Teresa Gold Project (the “Project”) in Baja California, Mexico, including results from re-assaying of historical drill-holes from the 2008 diamond drilling program, assays from a surface sampling program and results from phase 1 metallurgical test work.

Comet Managing Director, Matthew O’Kane, commented, “The re-assay of the historical drill core confirms the prior assay results, with intersections of very high-grade material. It also confirms the coarse gold/nugget effect apparent in the deposit, with variances being observed between some of the prior assay results and the current assay results, both higher and lower. The coarse gold seen in the assay results correlates well with the excellent metallurgical test results, where with the use of only gravity and floatation, we were able to achieve very high recoveries in excess of 90%. This is positive news as it is likely that a low- cost, free milling processing solution can be employed if a decision to mine is made.”

Results from re-assaying of historical drill holes and surface sampling program

Prior to commencing 2021 drilling, the Company’s Mexico-based geological consultants completed a detailed review of historical drill-core for re-sampling, and also conducted a surface sampling program at Santa Teresa. These activities were undertaken to better understand the geochemistry of the Project and the correlation between veins that outcrop at surface and the veins that were intercepted at depth in in historical drilling (see Figures 1 and 2 respectively for details on the location of the diamond drilling holes that were re-sampled and the location of surface samples).

Comet has now received assay results from the re-assaying program of 22 drill-holes that were drilled in 2008. The results included a number of significant high-grade gold intersections, including ‘bonanza’ grades in some (note: a JORC Table 1 is provided in Appendix 3 of this press release).

Significant intersections included:

• 1.0m at 132.0g/t gold from 112.7m (ST-0013)
• 1.0m at 52.8g/t gold from 20.0m (ST-0003)
• 1.0m at 27.9g/t gold from 142.0m (ST-0026)
• 1.0m at 24.9g/t gold from 217.0m (ST-0001)

The assays came from 95 samples that were selected after reviewing 7,025 metres (from a total of 32 drill-holes) of diamond HQ drill core from the 2008 drilling program at Santa Teresa. The aim was to correlate significant intersections previously sampled under the Company’s own, more modern QA/QC protocols. Following selection, the samples were prepared at ALS in Hermosillo and then sent to ALS in Vancouver for assaying, which returned the results contained in this press release in Appendix 1.

The surface sampling program consisted of collecting 37 rock chip and soil samples from quartz vein outcrops, and waste dump material located near historical workings. Samples were then assayed at ALS in Vancouver, returning anomalous gold results up to 9.5g/t (sample number 195509) (full results of all assays are detailed in Appendix 2 of this release).

The interpretation of the results obtained from the combined historical drill-hole re-assays and surface samples suggests the presence of two gold mineralization systems, the older of which appears to be a typical meso-thermal lode type system characterized by the correlation of gold to tellurium and arsenic, with an absence of silver and base metals. The other system identified appears to be a low sulphidation epithermal system related to more recent intrusive events. This was evident in the silver, zinc and lead values and the presence of elevated bismuth associated with the gold in certain assays.

The re-sampling and assaying program identified coarse gold mineralization in many samples, such that the “nugget effect” is likely to be a source of discrepancy between the 2008 assay program and the 2021 re-assay program, which were assayed using the AA-24 testing protocol. In order to examine this more closely, ALS Chemex was requested to use leftover samples with higher contrasts in gold results, (5 core samples and 3 surface samples) for analysis by the metallic gold or Au-SCR-

21 protocol. This particular assaying method considerably decreases the nugget effect and a smoothing out of the discrepancies in gold values was evident. This finding is considered important in the planning of future drilling and metallurgical test work programs.

Phase 1 metallurgical test work results

A sample of approximately 25kg composited from old pulps representative of the grade of the mineralized intervals tested, was also dispatched to the ALS Kamloops Metallurgical test work facility in Canada.

The head assays match what was expected given the assays on the samples that went into the composite, with an average head assay of approximately 11g/t gold. The gold assays do indicate coarser gold in the sample with the >106-micron fraction of the screened metallic content having a higher gold content than the <106-micron fraction assays.

ALS reported that there is clearly gravity recoverable gold in the sample with between 46% and 60% of the gold being recovered across a range of grind sizes, and 83% to 90% of the gold in the gravity tailings being recovered in rough floatation concentrate. The overall combined recovery of gold from gravity and floatation combined therefore ranged from 91% to 96%. These excellent recoveries confirm Comet’s view that Santa Teresa Gold Project’s gold is ‘free milling’ and amenable to low capital and operating cost gravity and flotation processing solutions should a decision to mine be made in the future.

This announcement has been authorised by the Board of Comet Resources Limited

For further information please contact:

MATTHEW O’KANE
Managing Director
(08) 6489 1600
[email protected]
cometres.com.au
Suite 9, 330 Churchill Avenue Subiaco WA 6008
PO Box 866 Subiaco WA 6904

Original Article: https://wcsecure.weblink.com.au/pdf/CRL/02416126.pdf