THE DRILL SERGEANT: Each week any number of junior exploration plays set out to drill their ground. Here’s a small selection of what’s been happening this week.

Drilling Commenced

Encounter Resources (ASX: ENR) has commenced diamond drilling at the Yeneena project in Western Australia.

This first diamond drilling of 2015 commenced at BM7 and will then move to Millennium to complete an initial three hole program over the next 6 to 8 weeks.

Drillin at the BM7 prospect will test a strong geochemical and structural vector identified north-east of the final hole of 2014, EPT2158, that intersected 140m at 0.2 per cent copper, including 1.3m at 3.2 per cent copper from 250.4m.

The 2015 drill campaign intends to target the area to the east and north of EPT2158 testing for a flat lying body of high grade copper mineralisation.

Exploration at the BM7 prospect is being conducted as part of the Antofagasta earn-in agreement.

Encounter recently completed an earn-in and joint venture agreement with Hampton Hill Mining at Millennium whereby Hampton has committed to sole fund the next $500,000 of exploration expenditure for a 10 per cent interest and may elect to earn a 25per cent interest in the project by funding a total of $2million of the next $3 million of exploration expenditure.

RC Drilling Underway at Yandal and Kalgoorlie gold projects

Metaliko Resources (ASX: MKO) is ready to commence Reverse Circulation (RC) drill testing of priority gold targets at multiple prospects across the company’s Yandal and Kalgoorlie projects.

The program will comprise around 53 RC holes and is planned to confirm and extend known mineralisation in specific areas.

At the Yandal project, all drilling was conducted at prospects located between 12 to 25 kilometres from the Bronzewing Treatment Plant.

At Anomaly 45 and Woorana the programs are designed to confirm mineralisation identified in historic drilling and provide sufficient geological data to define initial JORC Compliant Mineral Resource Estimates at each of the prospects.

At the Fat Lady prospect the drilling is designed to test deeper ore zones for higher grade material.

At Mandaline Well two scissor RC holes aim to confirm and extend a previous nickel oxide surface intercept.

At the Goongarrie Lady Deposit located north of Kalgoorlie five angled RC holes are planned to test for depth and strike extensions to the southern end of the existing shallow JORC Compliant Mineral Resource Estimate.

Once assays are returned an updated JORC 2012 Compliant Mineral Resource Estimate and pit optimisation study will be completed to support applications and activity for mine approvals.

In addition up to nine angled RC holes are planned to be drilled at the Baden Powell North prospect north of Kalgoorlie to test a high tenor gold-in-soil anomaly over a mineralised contact that has been partially tested by historic drilling.

Four deep holes are planned to further test historical gold intercepts beneath the Baden Powell open cut mine.

Drilling commences at Windsor prospect

King River Copper (ASX: KRC) has commenced a program of RC drilling at the Windsor prospect southwest of Kununurra in Western Australia.

Recently completed IP surveys at Windsor have identified five priority targets for drill testing.

On completion of the drilling program at Windsor, King River will move the rig to test additional IP targets around the Greys, Hayden and Chapman locations.

Drilling to Test EM anomaly

Boadicea Resources (ASX: BOA) is drilling a diamond drillhole (RC precollar and diamond tail) to test the Red Cap EM anomaly within the company’s Symons Hill project.

Symons Hill is located approximately six kilometres along strike from Sirius Resources’ (ASX: SIR) Nova‐Bollinger deposit in the Fraser Range of Western Australia.

The testing of the Red Cap anomaly follows systematic geochemistry and airborne EM survey, followed by aircore drilling which defined ultramafic and mafic intrusive rocks with associated anomalous nickel geochemistry.

A ground based EM survey was then completed over the area of interest, defining the EM anomaly which is the target of the current diamond hole.

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Gryphon Minerals (ASX: GRY) has reported results of recently completed shallow reserve drilling at the company’s 3.6 million ounce Banfora gold project in Burkina Faso.

The drilling was designed to target shallow oxide material within the company’s existing pit designs on a mining grade control pattern in preparation for mine commencement.

Gryphon said the results from the infill drilling have confirmed existing geological and resource models and have also indicated grade continuity within the numerous shoots that were drill tested.

Some of the better intersections include:

Nogbele Deposit

17 metres at 8.2 grams per tonne gold from 12m;

19m at 6.3g/t gold from 7m;

16m at 6.8g/t gold from 7m;

8m at 11.3g/t gold from 6 m; and

25m at 3.4g/t gold from 1m.

Fourkoura Deposit

14m at 64.6g/t gold from 16m, including 1m at 843.4g/t gold;

18m at 5.8g/t gold from 12m;

19m at 5.5g/t gold from 3m;

16m at 4.5g/t gold from 10m; and

12m at 5.3g/t gold from 0m.

“This recent drill program has significantly de-risked the proposed in-pit mining inventory for the initial mining and continues to confirm the excellent continuity and grade of the gold mineralisation,” Gryphon Minerals managing director Stephen Parsons said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“It has also confirmed several areas of very high-grade gold within the initial pit designs that will now be re-optimised and brought forward into the first years of mine production.

“With the de-risking of the Reserves within the initial mining areas and the Banfora gold project being fully permitted to proceed with the proposed two million tonnes per annum heap leach mining operation, the company will continue to progress due diligence with Macquarie Bank for the proposed US$60 million senior loan facility, associated hedging and cost overrun facility.”

Email: admin@gryphonminerals.com.au

Website: www.gryphonminerals.com.au

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Rox Resources (ASX: RXL) is pleased with the progress of its current drilling program being carried out at the company’s 100 per cent-owned Fisher East nickel project located 500 kilometres north of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia.

Rox said the results coming through from drilling at the Cannonball prospect, located roughly midway between the Camelwood and Musket nickel sulphide deposits, have indicated extensions to mineralisation previously reported.

Results include:

MFEC101
5 metres at 1.4 per cent nickel from 81m;

MFEC102
5m at 3.4 per cent nickel, including 2m at 6.0 per cent nickel from 114m;

MFEC103
3m at 1.5 per cent nickel from 87m; and

MFED066
4.5m at 2.3 per cent nickel from 293.5m.

Rox is confident the drilling is starting to display the potential of the Cannonball prospect, claiming the latest drill results complement previous results the company released in August 2014 that included:

MFEC078
10m at 2.2 per cent nickel from 154m; and

MFEC080
3m at 4.7 per cent nickel from 168m, including 2m at 6.0 per cent nickel.

“The drilling at Cannonball is proceeding nicely and will allow us to define a mineral resource there once the program, which is still ongoing, is concluded,” Rox Resources managing director Ian Mulholland said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

According to Rox a number of additional diamond holes have been drilled at Cannonball, from which it is still awaiting assays.

The company noted visual observations from the drilling of a narrow zone (40cm) of high-grade sulphide at contact, then patchy blebby sulphides as well as a couple of one metre intersections of weakly disseminated sulphides.

The current drilling program at Fisher East is progressing with assays pending for further holes at Cannonball and also a number of holes at other prospects.

A second phase of RC drilling will commence shortly.

Email: admin@roxresources.com.au

Website: www.roxresources.com.au

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Argent Minerals (ASX: ARD) is busy preparing the next phase of deep diamond drilling for the company’s Kempfield polymetallic project in New South Wales.

The company has designed the upcoming holes to test a recently validated Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide (VMS) deposit model, which it considers to demonstrate potential for depth extensions to mineralised lenses below the known deposit.

“Following the recent validation of Argent’s hypothesis for the formation and structure of the deposit and the potential increased ‘size of the prize’, five additional diamond holes have been designed to significantly extend the reach of the Kempfield deep diamond drilling program,” Argent Minerals managing director David Busch said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“Four of the new holes will focus on testing the depth extensions of the known mineralisation at Kempfield that are predicted by the recently validated deposit model.

“An additional hole has also been designed to complement further drilling work already planned, targeting new lenses of high-grade base and precious metal mineralisation.”

Holes 5 and 6 have been designed to complement Hole 4 in testing for depth extensions of the southern portion of Lens 3 in an area where previous drilling intersected 18 metres at 9.8 per cent lead-zinc, 113 grams per tonne silver and 0.26g/t gold from 85m, including 5m at 17.9 per cent lead-zinc, 256g/t silver and 0.34g/t gold from 85 m.

This area also includes a previous intersection of: 48m at 4.33 per cent lead-zinc, 43g/t silver and 0.6g/t gold from 56 m, including 14m at 5.2 per cent lead-zinc, 64.5g/t silver and 1.5g/t gold from 72m.

Holes 4, 5, 6, 8 and 9 will also test for depth extensions of Lens 2, and Hole 4 has been extended to 600m to test for depth extensions to the southern portion of Lens 1.

“NSW Government-sponsored Holes 3 and 4 will be drilled next to test for interpreted Lens 4 and the northern strike extension of Lens 3, their planned depths now extended to 550 and 600 metres respectively,” Busch continued.

“In addition to drill-testing specific targets, Holes 1 to 4 were also designed to provide the deepest geophysics coverage of the Kempfield site to date.

“Downhole electromagnetic (EM) surveys are vastly superior to ground or airborne surveys for depth, sensitivity, discernment of targets from manmade structures, and 3D accuracy in determining response locations.

“Downhole surveys will be performed on the holes to identify any base metal conductors within the designed survey pattern covering a significant area of up to 600,000 square metres and depths of up to 450 metres below the surface.”

Website: www.argentminerals.com.au

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Mithril Resources (ASX: MTH) has commenced Fixed Loop Electromagnetic (FLEM) and Downhole Electromagnetic (DHEM) surveys at the Stark prospect, located 80 kilometres south east of Meekatharra in Western Australia.

The company is conducting the studies to define its next round of drill targets.

Results from the surveys are expected by mid-May 2015.

Mithril said the aim of the surveys is to identify further occurrences of massive sulphide mineralisation adjacent to copper-nickel-PGE drill intercepts it announced in March, including:

NDD15001
16.37 metres at 0.4 per cent copper, 0.07 per cent nickel, and 0.2g/t (gold + platinum + palladium PGEs) from 213.43m in, including 0.27m at 0.41 per cent copper, 1.62 per cent nickel, and 1.6g/t PGEs from 213.43m and 0.43m at 2.19 per cent copper, 0.12 per cent nickel, and 0.77g/t PGEs from 213.7m; and

0.6m at 3.81 per cent copper, 0.05 per cent nickel, 1.05g/t PGE’s, and 19.1g/t silver from 246.35m, including 0.15m at 13.7 per cent copper, 0.16 per cent nickel, 3.94g/t PGEs, and 73.7g/t silver from 246.35m.

“Copper-nickel-PGE mineralisation drilled to date at Stark is associated with disseminated and massive sulphides (pyrrhotite-chalcopyrite-pentlandite-pyrite) that occur within, at, and below the base of a mafic (gabbro) intrusion,” Mithril Resources said in its ASX announcement.

“Limited drilling undertaken by Mithril to date has intersected copper-nickel-PGE mineralisation over a one kilometre strike length with the best grades occurring at the southern end of the zone where the current EM surveys will be focussed.

“Mineralisation throughout the zone remains open in all directions.”

The Stark prospect is situated within the Nanadie Well project on tenements subject to a Farmin and Joint Venture Agreement Mithril has with Intermin Resources (ASX: IRC).

Under the terms of the JV, Mithril can earn a 60 per cent interest in the project tenements by completing expenditure of $2 million by 14 April 2018, and an additional 15 per cent by completing further expenditure of $2 million over a further two years.

Email: admin@mithrilresources.com.au

Website: www.mithrilresources.com.au