The initial discovery area, Rompas, is a hydrothermal vein style system defined over a 6.0 kilometres strike and 200-250 metres width. Exploration on the project started in May 2010. During that year, 80 channel samples averaged 0.59 metres at 203.66 g/t gold and 0.86% uranium and during 2011 the weighted average of all 74 channel intervals was 1.40 m at 51.9 g/t gold and 0.13 % uranium. Unrepresentative grab sample results include values up to 33,200 ppm gold and 56.6% uranium oxide at Rompas.
From mid-2011 to the end of the period Mawson has drilled 8,164.8 metres in 90 holes at Rompas, comprising 2,462.8 metres in 29 drill holes at North Rompas; 2,436.2 metres in 29 drill holes in the northern block at South Rompas; 2,504.3 metres in 24 holes within the southern block at South Rompas; and 761.5 metres in 8 drill holes at Northern Rajapalot.
In August 2012, results from the first drill program at Rompas returned 6 metres @ 617 g/t gold in drill hole ROM0011 including 1 metre @ 3,540 g/t gold and 1 metre @ 114.5 g/t gold in drill hole ROM0015. These results confirmed the significance of the hundreds of high-grade surface occurrences that were channel sampled during 2010 and 2011.
A second drill program commenced in December 2012. At North Rompas the best results include 0.4 metres @ 395 g/t gold and 0.41% uranium from 41.0 metres in drill hole ROM0052, the most southerly drill hole of the program; and 1.1 metres @ 9.8 g/t gold and 0.16% uranium from 78.5 metres in drill hole ROM0053.
Drilling at the Kaita prospect at the most southern end of the Rompas vein system did not intersect mineralization of economic interest. A 13 diamond drill hole program for 784.2 metres campaign was conducted during September-October of 2013. The best diamond drill result was 1m @ 4.9 g/t gold from 49 metres in KD0009. Better surface diamond cut trench results from Kaita included 1.65 metres @ 29.1 g/t gold in TR107465; 1.2 m @ 27 g/t gold in TR118401, 0.4 m @ 132 g/t gold in TR118407 and 1.5 m @ 42.2 g/t gold in TR118425.
With only 450 metres of the plus 6 kilometre vein system sporadically tested to date down to less than 80 metres vertical depth, the most encouragement has come from the northern block of South Rompas vein system, with both prospect scale shallow drilling and trenching defining a coherent mineralized sequence. South Rompas is characterized by gold mineralization constrained to one specific host rock type (metabasalt) within a broader uranium halo. Within this halo the
- top 24% of all trench and drill assays above the lower cut of 0.5 g/t gold or 100 ppm uranium, have a grade of 100 g/t or more and the top 24% of all intersections have a grade of 0.42% uranium or higher;
- top 25% of drill intersections only have a grade of 7.7 g/t or higher;
- highest grade drill hole intersection is 3,540 g/t gold over 1 metre. The highest grade uranium intersection is 3.6% uranium over 0.6 m in a trench. The highest grade drill intersection grade of 0.7% uranium over 1.0 metres;
- mineralization in the vein system, to date, is characterized by narrow intersection widths of 1-2 metres with an average of 0.9 metre thickness;
- drilling, to date, has been shallow with 46% of intersections at 20 metres down hole depth or less; and
- 11 out of 13 holes drilled in 2013 winter drill program at South Rompas had at least one intersection that exceeded lower cut 0.5 g/t gold or 100 ppm uranium.
The host sequence to the Company’s second target area, the Rompas vein-style mineralisation, comprises a package of amphibolite facies metamorphosed basalts, clastic sediments, carbonate rocks and reduced shales of the Paleoproterozoic Peräpohja Schist Belt in southern Lapland. Mineralized intersections to date are largely within metabasaltic rocks. Detailed field mapping and logging of drill core indicate the gold and uraninite at Rompas is hosted by carbonate-quartz-calcsilicate veins and their related alteration selvages. The calcsilicate veins comprise carbonate, quartz, amphibole and pyroxene with highly variable amounts and distribution of uraninite and gold. Alteration of the host rock marginal to the veins comprises biotite, amphibole and some K-feldspar. The gold and uraninite are typically found intimately associated at North and South Rompas, although rare elevated Uranium intersections contain little or no gold. The carbonate veins within the host clastic sequence appear identical to those within the metabasalts, indicating perhaps a structural or wall rock control on the precipitation of the gold and uraninite.
