Metal Bank fieldwork returns high-grade gold and copper
THE DRILL SERGEANT: Metal Bank (ASX: MBK) has completed further fieldwork at the company’s Spinifex Ridge East project.
The Spinifex Ridge East project (80 per cent MBK) consists of two granted exploration licences over an area of 60.5 square kilometres, located approximately 50 kilometres northeast of Marble Bar in northwest Western Australia.
The project is situated 10km west of Haoma Mining’s (ASX: HAO) Bamboo Creek gold mine and one kilometre east of Moly Mines’ (ASX: MOL) Spinifex Ridge molybdenum-copper resource and iron ore mining operations.
Sample results within Metal Bank’s Bamboo Creek tenements. Source: Company announcement
The latest fieldwork carried out by Metal Bank was carried out to follow-up results it had generated during rock chip sampling in 2012, which returned multi-commodity assays, including 30.8 grams per tonne gold, 154 grams per tonne silver and 6.54 per cent copper.
“Results from the recently completed program have confirmed the extent and tenor of the previously identified gold, copper and silver mineralisation, and have additionally identified anomalous fluorite mineralisation for the first time,” Metal Bank said in its ASX announcement.
During April 2013, Metal Bank carried out work over a number of known prospects at Spinifex Ridge East, including BC07, BC01, BC02 and Norms Find.
Previous exploration had identified mineralisation of 0.31g/t gold and 0.12 per cent copper at BC07; 30.8g/t gold at BC01; 154g/t silver at BC02; and 6.54 per cent copper at Norms Find.
Norm’s Find prospect
Five samples from this prospect returned anomalous results, including one sample which returned grades of 16.5 per cent copper, 4.27g/t gold, and 251g/t silver.
BC07 prospect
Metal Bank is of the opinion widespread anomalous gold and silver mineralisation exists at the BC07 prospect.
One sample from the latest work returned grades of 1.34g/t gold, and 88g/t silver, while anomalous fluorite grades of up to 11.5 per cent were returned from other samples.
“Fluorite at the reported grades is considered to be anomalous and further investigation of these areas to find economic zones will be considered in future programs,” Metal Bank explained.
“Fluorite is considered an industrial mineral and roughly half the world’s production of fluorite is used in the manufacture of hydrofluoric acid, which has a variety of uses, the most important of which are in the aluminum and chemical industries.
“Other uses include using fluorite as a flux in the production of steel and magnesium.”
Metal Bank considers both the Norm’s Find and BC07 prospects to warrant follow up work to assist in targeting for possible drilling in the future.