The objective of the work is to explore the feasibility of a small scale mining exercise on the soft, very high grade material. Highly anomalous gold was intercepted in holes BG340 and BG339 following on from previous encouraging results from BG243 and BG161. While there is some evidence of supergene enrichment and possible lateral transportation of gold in palaeochannels, the mineralisation encountered in the diamond drilling confirms the existence of a primary source of gold. In the drilling completed to date, gold in bedrock has been largely associated with quartz veining, commonly in altered and brecciated zones. Host rocks have varied from meta granitoids to metabasic and ultrabasic rocks.
Deformation is also highly variable in the bedrock encountered so far.
The current interpretation at Boomerang is that the source of the gold in the oxide zone has yet to be found and extensive further bedrock drilling is warranted. Ahead of this a study of the multi-element geochemistry from the aircore drilling will be completed. The sampling has provided clearer definition of the gold anomaly which peaks at 900 ppb and extends at 50 ppb levels over an area of 150 m x 80 m. RC drill testing is planned for early 1998. Drilling programmes to test these areas are currently being planned. The source for the magnetic anomaly was not intersected however, and deeper drilling is planned, following review of the existing geochemical and magnetic data.