Barra hit a gold intersection yielding a very high 10,300 grams of gold per tonne - or over 10 kilograms per tonne

"This 10,300 grams per tonne just blew me away - it just eclipses anything that I've ever seen."

The more than 0.21 metre intersection was part of a longer 4.69 metre intersection that graded a huge 462.1 grams per tonne gold in a hole that is the deepest ever drilled on the field.

Barra now plans to intensify its drilling around the discovery, which is not near Burbanks' previous historical underground workings and is well below current mine development.

Goodwin said the intersection was the first of six holes planned in the current drilling program.

The hole in question "remains wide open", he said, so the full extent of the mineralisation system is unknown.

Drilling had been halted for the Christmas break but will recommence in the second week of January.

"I've always firmly believed that Burbanks has the potential to deliver significant ounces," he said.

During 1887 and 1914, the mine was the highest grade gold mine in Western Australia.

Western Mining had a crack at Burbanks in the early 1950s, de-watering it and going underground.

Mining ceased in 1991, but it became Barra's flagship project when the company floated on the Australian stock exchange in 2000.

"The old timers, back at the turn of the century between 1887 and 1914, mined 350,000 ounces out of the top 100 metres ... at an average grade of 22.7 grams per tonne," Goodwin said.

"When you see significant mineralisation like that, there is generally a lot of gold underneath it."

Mining industry bodies could not confirm if the discovery was a record breaker.