Mineral exploration business G50 Corp (ASX: G50) has unleashed the drill rig for a Phase 2 reverse circulation drilling campaign to follow up on the group’s high-grade gallium, gold, and silver discoveries at its Golconda project in the US state of Arizona.
The new program builds on the company’s 2023 exploration works which intercepted multiple broad zones of gold, silver, and gallium across a 250m by 1,500m area.
It is designed to grow the company’s understanding of depth and strike extensions of existing mineralisation, and to explore new targets along strike from G50’s strategic and precious metal discoveries.
High grade discoveries
Notably, previous drilling at the project delivered a 35m hit grading 5.2 grams per tonne gold from 177m below surface. This intercept also contains a richer 9m section at 19.5 g/t gold.
Other significant results from past drilling include 26m at 157 g/t silver and 0.70 g/t gold from 61m, and 9m at 172 g/t silver in another hole.
Wide-spaced drilling at Golconda also delivered gallium mineralisation in 11 of 14 holes. Here, standout hits included 109m at 40.5 g/t gallium from 129m and a 308m intercept from surface grading 28.6 g/t gallium.
G50 Corp managing director, Mark Wallace, commented:
“We are excited to be back in the field at Golconda, following up on our maiden high grade gallium, gold and silver discoveries. We have significantly increased our understanding of the geological model at Golconda and the current drilling will aim to add further knowledge to both depth and strike potential to this treasure chest of opportunity.”
Critical metal for the modern world
Gallium is a highly versatile metal with unique properties which make it essential in modern-day technology. It is widely used in semiconductors to enhance the performance of high-speed electronics, LEDs, and power devices.
Gallium-based compounds also play a key role in solar panels by enabling higher efficiency than traditional silicon-based options. In addition, the metal is utilised in medical applications such as radiopharmaceutical imaging for cancer detection.
Late last year, the price of gallium jumped to its highest level since 2011 after China imposed export restrictions on this strategic metal. The Asian nation accounted for 98 per cent of the world’s gallium production in 2023, according to the US Geological Survey.
Management noted that geopolitical and commercial demands are driving significant interest in G50’s strategically located project. It believes Golconda could present a solution to the Western world’s needs for a secure supply of strategic materials for defence and energy technologies.
Gold hunt in Nevada
Separately, G50 recently commenced an exploration drilling campaign at its White Caps gold project in Nevada, to test several high-priority targets along 2km strike length.
White Caps is a significant historical gold mine located in proximity to the Round Mountain project which has produced more than 15 million ounces of the precious metal since beginning operations in 1978.