Eastern Creek - WA
(E46/598 - Truscott 90%)
Eastern Creek Project
Truscott's Eastern Creek Project is located 50 kilometres north east of Nullagine in the Eastern Pilbara region of Western Australia.
Gold was first discovered in the Nullagine region in 1886 and by 1918, almost 65,000 ounces of gold production had been recorded from the area at the extremely high average grade of 52.6g/t Au. Of this, the Eastern Creek mining centre contributed 7,979 ounces at 57.0g/t Au. Around Nullagine, the gold was hosted by conglomerates of the Hardey Sandstone while approximately 50km to the east the gold was recorded in pelitic and psammitic schists of the Mosquito Creek Formation which included the Eastern Creek group located 7km east of southeast corner of the current tenement area.
Previous exploration of the Eastern Creek Project has involved only limited reconnaissance work, comprising photogeological and regional aeromagnetic interpretation followed up by small programs of surface geochemical stream and soil sampling. Despite the structural and geological setting, the tenement has not been systematically explored and never drilled.
Exploration Developments
Exploration by Truscott and its joint venture partner has identified coherent multi-element geochemical trends in the central sector of the tenement, in a structurally complex area. The area of multi-element anomalism has also been described as structurally complex with faulting, tension vein arrays and extensive silicification. Overall, the combined elevated multi-element results show a proximity to north-south and northwest trending structures, and also proximity to the unconformity at the base of the Mosquito Creek Formation.
Targets identified are within a northerly-trending broad corridor, comprising basalts of the Warrawoona Formation and overlying sediments of the Mosquito Creek Formation. The adjacent Mining Centres of Mt Elsie and Eastern Creek occur with Archaean rocks of the Warrawoona and Mosquito Creek Formations, respectively.
Results to date from completed soil sampling programmes have confirmed and extended the existing gold ± arsenic ± antimony anomalies. Values of up to 163ppb Au and 3,870ppm As have been recorded from the 223 sample programme on a broad 50m x 400m grid, with a number of infill lines to 200m spacing. The soil coverage now extends 6.8 kilometres north-south by 2.5 kilometres east-west (Figure 9), including samples taken in 2001 by a previous explorer.
Several linear geochemical anomalies up to 2 kilometres long and several hundred metres wide overlie basaltic rocks in the north of the area. These are associated with zones of alteration, quartz veining and gossanous outcrop and are subparallel to major structures recognised by the Geological Survey of WA. Significant gold values of 50ppb and 68ppb Au occur on the northernmost lines and the anomalies remain open to the north.
Figure 9: Eastern Creek Geology and Arsenic Geochemical Image
The peak gold value of 163ppb Au occurs over a north-westerly-trending splay fault within basalts, adjacent to the unconformity with Mosquito Creek sediments. Another gold anomaly is located 1.7 kilometres to the south in a similar structural setting, and closer to the unconformity contact. Both these targets appear to be structurally controlled, albeit with lower As and Sb levels than the northern anomalies.
A broad area of strong arsenic anomalism with values to 0.39% As has been defined in the south-eastern portion of the soil grid over Mosquito Creek sediments. Gold values to 113pb Au are associated with elevated arsenic, with the highest value occurring on the southernmost line.
Truscott Mining is encouraged by the fact that the tenor of these anomalies is similar to those associated with advanced prospects of other explorers within the Mosquito Creek Basin. Further detailed infill and further extension of the soil sampling grid are planned.