Super-rich ore body discovered at Mount Elizabeth Silver Mine in Western Australia

According to MiningNews.net, West Coast Silver encountered high-grade silver ore and indications of gold in the first drilling at its Elizabeth Hill project in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

The initial batch of drilling included 12 holes, with a planned drilling depth of 1,183 meters.

The first two holes encountered a thick orebody at shallow depths. The first hole encountered 21 meters of ore at a depth of 10 meters, with a silver grade of 1,047 g/mt, including an 8-meter-thick orebody with a grade of 2,632 g/mt.

The richest ore section was encountered at a depth of 27 meters, with 1 meter of ore at a grade of 15,071 g/mt.

Previous drilling by Alien Metals, the former owner of the mine, encountered 21 meters of ore at a depth of 12 meters, with a silver grade of 730 g/mt.

The second hole encountered 15 meters of ore at a depth of 1 meter, with a silver grade of 723 g/mt. This included 3 meters of ore starting at a depth of 1 meter, with a silver grade of 2,639 g/mt, and 1 meter of ore at a depth of 4 meters, with a gold grade of 2.03 g/mt.

Anomalies in base metals, such as zinc (0.334%), copper (0.275%), and lead (over 1%), were also encountered.

It is not surprising to encounter gold and base metals in the northern region, but the high-grade gold is somewhat unexpected.

The variability in silver content in the samples reflects the variability characteristics of silver mineralization.

The Elizabeth Hill silver-polymetallic mine produced 1.2 million ounces of silver over approximately one year. In 2000, the mine was closed due to factors such as low silver prices ($5/ounce).

The Elizabeth Hill deposit is renowned for its pod-shaped ore bodies. The "Karratha Queen" silver nugget, weighing 140 kg (4,938 ounces), was discovered there. This nugget is the largest silver nugget ever mined in Australia and one of the largest in the world.

In comparison, the world's largest silver nugget, weighing 1,051 kg (37,426 ounces), was discovered in the 1890s at the Smugglers mine in Colorado.