Impact Minerals review confirms copper nickel and PGE mineralisation
THE DRILL SERGEANT: Impact Minerals (ASX:IPT) has completed a review of its recently acquired Broken Hill Joint Venture project located within the Curnamona Province in New South Wales.
Impact is earning 80 per cent of the project.
Impact claims the review has confirmed widespread high-grade copper, nickel and platinum group mineralisation at the project’s Red Hill prospect.
The company said its on-going review of previous exploration results at the Broken Hill project has shown:
That around 500 tonnes of ore was mined from the dormant Red Hill Mine between 1906 and 1937, with face samples returning a grade range of:
2 to 4 per cent copper, 2 to 3 per cent nickel, 5 to 41 grams per tonne platinum group elements (PGE) and 22 to 70g/t silver;
Rock chip assays over a 130 m by 30 m area trending northeast from the Red Hill Mine, close to the contact between the host ultramafic intrusion and the surrounding rocks returned a grade range of:
1 to 36g/t PGE and 0.2 to 6.1 per cent copper; and
Previous exploration drilling has not tested the mineralised areas.
“These new findings at the Red Hill prospect, which we were unaware of when we purchased the joint venture rights to the project, have confirmed our view that the Broken Hill project is highly prospective for high-grade copper-nickel-PGE mineralisation and further complement the high-grade platinum and palladium results returned from the nearby Mulga Springs prospect,” Impact Minerals managing director Dr Mike Jones said in the company’s announcement to teh Australian Securities Exchange.
“Given that there are a few tens of kilometres of untested strike of the ultramafic intrusions elsewhere within the Broken Hill project area, I am confident that the on-going review will only lead to further exciting results for shareholders.”
Impact explained that the Red Hill Mine was mined for copper between 1906 and 1937 both at surface and underground, from a vertical shaft to a depth of 36m.
The company said mine records it has accessed indicate about 500 tonnes of ore was mined from four parallel ‘lodes’, each 1m to 2.5m wide.
Face samples from the underground mine returned a grade range of 2 to 4 per cent copper, 2 to 3 per cent nickel, 5 to 41g/t PGE and 22 to 70g/t silver.
The lodes are open along strike and at depth.
About 70 rock chip samples taken from the Red Hill Mine returned assays with a grade range of 1 to 36g/t PGE and 0.2 to 6.1 per cent copper near the western contact of the ultramafic rocks. These results have not been followed up.
Impact cautioned these assays may have been upgraded by near surface weathering.
It also said, however, that drilling at the Mulga Springs prospect beneath samples with similar surface grades has identified massive sulphide mineralisation in fresh rock at about 45m below surface with intercepts of:
4m at 17.9g/t platinum+palladium+gold, 2.3 per cent nickel and 3.2 per cent copper from 43 m; and
2.1m at 8.3g/t platinum+palladium+gold, 3 per cent nickel and 3.5 per cent copper from 45m.
Impact has commenced a field program at the Red Hill prospect comprising field checking and soil and rock chip sampling.
Re-processing of a previous ground EM survey over the area has also started.
The analysis and review of other exploration data is continuing. This will include the re-logging of previous diamond drill core that is stored at Broken Hill.