Other significant hits were 1m at 5.92gpt from 42m and 2m at 5.85gpt from 50m; 1m at 1.7gpt from 46m and 2m at 1.86gpt from 6m.

 

News of the bonanza strike in the Pine Creek region of the Northern Territory sent the company's shares up 14.3% to A0.8c, valuing PNX at almost $11 million.

 

RC drilling at Banner, north west of Tally Ho, was the first test of a consistent near-surface soils anomaly returning greater than 1gpt gold over 500m, and has delivered mineralisation below the base of oxidation, the first known occurrence of primary gold at Banner. 

 

PNX managing director James Fox said the company was "very excited" and was keen to push through the remaining assays and get a diamond rig to the area once it completes drilling near the flooded Fountain Head pit for an initial hole to obtain further geological information to plan a larger follow up program.

 

That diamond hole is about two weeks away.

 

The company is also ranking several other untested gold-in-soil anomalies close to Banner prospect to rank them, and it is examining the lower grade gold mineralisation seen within the Banner RC drilling for further assessment.

 

Fox said the recent excellent assay results at Fountain Head and Tally Ho, and now Banner, highlighted the potential for the area to host a sizeable gold system that had previously been missed.

 

Yesterday the company reported assays of 16m at 1.37gpt gold, including 1m at 8.39gpt from 5m; and 2m at 4.04gpt from 21m at Fountain Head and 5m at 3.96gpt from 107m, including 2m at 9.17gpt from 110m at Tally Ho, which is the higher grade of the two historically mined zones in the area.

 

Further, the first diamond tail completed to test the down-plunge extent of Tally Ho defined mineralisation a further 100m along strike, with assays due in September. 

 

The project is just 15km from PNX's flagship Hayes Creek project.

 

PNX secured Fountain Head from Kirkland Lake Gold in February, initially with the aim of locating the Hayes Creek plant there, given it was just 12km from the Iron Blow and Mt Bonnie zinc-gold-silver VMS deposits and has good existing infrastructure including high-voltage power, rail, gas, water and roads with the existing pits considered ideal for tailings disposal. 

 

A definitive feasibility study for the $60 million Hayes Creek development is planned for completion later this year, and production targeting early 2020 targeting a 6.5 year mine life through annual production of 18,200t zinc, 14,700oz gold, and 1.4Moz silver for 39,100 t of zinc equivalent.

 

The recent discoveries suggest there could be more life at Fountain Head a decade after mining originally began feed for the Union Reefs plant by GBS Gold.

 

The original discoveries were made by Harmony Gold and Northern Gold.