THE DRILL SERGEANT: Pioneer Resources (ASX: PIO) has carried out interpretation of soil geochemistry results and field reconnaissance at the company’s 100 per cent-owned Juglah Dome project, located just outside of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia.

The program resulted in the identification of a new polymetallic anomaly, which Pioneer said will be referred to as the Dingo Dam prospect.

 

Location of the new Dingo Dam copper-gold and lead-zinc anomaly, in
relation to earlier Pioneer RAB drilling Intersections. Source: Company
announcement

 

Pioneer has received results from a soil and rock chip sample geochemistry program, which identified anomalous copper-gold-silver and lead-zinc zones the company has interpreted to represent a possible volcanic-associated sulphide setting.

The anomalies occur over a strike length exceeding 1.2 kilometres.

Two rock chip samples taken from a gossan located within the northern Dingo Dam area returned anomalous copper values to 1.10 per cent copper and gold to 3.67 grams per tonne gold, with elevated silver.

Pioneer has lodged a program of work (POW) application with the WA Department of Mines and Petroleum for a program of regolith drilling to confirm sub-surface anomalism, determine rock types and analyse for mineral-alteration patterns common with volcanic-associated sulphide metal deposits.

The company is putting together drilling programs to be conducted at its Acra (gold), Golden Ridge (nickel) and now Juglah Dome projects.

Pioneer said it anticipates statutory approvals should be received during August, allowing drilling to commence by September 2014.

Email: pioneer@pioresources.com.au

Website: www.pioneerresources.com.au

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Laconia Resources (ASX: LCR) has completed additional historic data compilation and review, which it says has revealed a parallel set of veins adjacent to the Española 1 prospect in Peru, called the Barita vein.

The trend consists of 280 metres strike of parallel veining immediately west of the Española 1 veins, and also broadens the width of outcropping veining at the area to 130m wide.

The Española 1 prospect, lies within the company’s 100 per cent-owned tenements (Patacancha 3).

The parallel Barita vein is within the Huaco Cucho No 2 tenement, part of a package of 11 tenements over which Laconia has acquired an option.

 

Plan view of the Southern Kimsa Orcco prospects with high-grade
copper-gold-silver (green labels) or gold-silver (black labels),
including the Barita vein that is parallel to Española 1 prospect.
Source: Company announcement

 

“Parallel vein sets at Barita dramatically increase the area of known mineralisation around the Española 1 prospect,” Laconia Resources managing director Ian Stuart said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“We have incorporated the significant historic results at Barita and our new sampling results at Fortuna and Española 1 into a near-surface model of mineralisation at the Favi Vent Zone.

“To date we have identified greater than 850 metres strike of high-grade copper-gold-silver veining and this opens up many possibilities for future development of the project, including open cut potential.

“The presence of such high-grade copper and precious metals is particularly pleasing.

“Sampling results from the northern Kimsa Orcco tenements are pending and we look forward to incorporating these assay and spectral analysis results into our planning.”

At Kimsa Orcco, Laconia has identified a central region containing copper-rich mineralisation through systematic review of historic data with the benefit of modern 3D computer software.

This has consolidated Laconia’s understanding of the greater zone of mineralisation and its geological controls.

The company has recently completed successful resampling of mineralised areas, which it claims to validate and increase its confidence in the use of the historical data set in exploration programs planned for later in the year.

Email: info@laconia.com.au

Website: www.laconia.com.au

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 of Pallatu nickel targets

Musgrave Minerals (ASX: MGV) has commenced drilling on the Pallatu 6 and 7 ground electromagnetic (EM) targets, located on the Deering Hills project, within the company’s wholly-owned tenement EL5317, in the Musgrave Province of South Australia.

“The Musgrave province is one of the most prospective areas for nickel sulphide mineralisation in Australia, and we are looking forward to drill testing these new EM targets.” Musgrave Minerals managing director Rob Waugh said.

“We know we are in a prospective zone having previously intersected massive and disseminated nickel sulphide only one kilometre away on a parallel mafic/ultramafic intrusive.

“We have been working closely with the CSIRO and are encouraged by the prospectivity of the target area.”

The planned program will consist of approximately 500m of diamond drilling over the two targets and will take approximately two to three weeks to complete with results expected by late August.

Walford Creek Drilling

Aeon Metals (ASX: AQR) has commenced drilling ta the company’s recently-acquired Walford Creek project.

Aeon intends to drill a total of approximately 12,000 metres over the two dry seasons, 2014 and 2015.

The proposed drilling has been designed with the objective of increasing the defined Resource and outlining mining and metallurgical parameters for a pre-feasibility study by December 2015.

“This drilling program is the beginning of the next important phase for Walford Creek,” Aeon Metals managing director Hamish Collins said.

“Whilst there has been a lot of drilling over the last three years, some 15,000 metres, which has provided the basis for our JORC Resource, we are now in the project definition phase which includes further Resource definition drilling, as well as establishing metallurgical and mining parameters, and preparing a pre-feasibility study.”

Drilling permit approved for Ilo Este

Latin Resources (ASX: LRS) has received approval of the Ilo Este drilling permit by the Peruvian Ministry of Energy and Mines.

The company has immediately requested authorisation for commencement of exploration activities from the same Government entity, which is expected within the prescribed 20 day period.

Once authorised, Latin Resources anticipates mobilisation of equipment to site early August.

Next phase of drilling commenced at Kumarina

Horseshoe Metals (ASX: HOR) has commenced the next phase of drilling at the company’s copper-gold projects in the Gascoyne district in Western Australia.

Aa Reverse Circulation (RC) drill program totalling approximately 2,000 metres has commenced at the Kumarina copper project, which will be the initial phase of drilling designed to test exploration targets at the project’s Snell North prospect plus the Snell Shear Zone and follow-up drilling at the old Kumarina copper mine.

Horseshoe Metals also plans to conduct a follow up drill program of up to five deep RC holes at the Kumarina Deeps prospect in August/September 2014.

This program will be co-funded under the WA State Government’s Exploration Incentive Scheme, which will contribute up to $100,000 towards this program.

The company then intends to commence its next phase of drilling at the Horseshoe Lights copper-gold project, once drilling at the Kumarina project is complete.

Plans for drilling at Horseshoe Lights are currently underway.

Drilling underway at Panda Hill

Cradle Resources (ASX: CXX) has commenced drilling activities at the company’s Panda Hill niobium project, located in the Mbeya region in south western Tanzania.

The first phase of the drilling program comprises diamond drill holes and RC drill holes for a total of 78 holes being drilled.

The company said the first phase of drilling is anticipated to be completed by the end of September, with assay results expected between mid-August and early November.

The drilling is centred on a resource area the Cradle defined during its 2013 drilling program and has been designed to: improve delineation of the different ore types; increase the confidence of the current model resource; obtain representative samples for metallurgical test work; and collect geotechnical information.

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Orinoco Gold (ASX: OGX) has received impressive first assay results from contiguous panel sampling taken form the exploration decline at the company’s Cascavel gold project in central Brazil.

Orinoco said the results – when combined with previous drilling, underground bulk and channel sampling – provide further evidence of the potential for structurally controlled shear zone hosted gold mineralisation from very shallow depths at Cascavel, highlighting the opportunity to develop a high-grade, low-cost gold project.

Highest grade results from contiguous panel samples on the wall of the decline (along the strike of the mineralisation) to date include:

5.73 metres at 113.3 grams per tonne gold (3.6 ounces from 12.43m to 18.16 m of decline) at approx. 21m from surface and currently open to SW including:

2.46m at 239.4g/t gold (7.7 ounces from 15.m to 18.16m of decline);

The highest grade panel sample returned in this batch was 0.5m at 842g/t gold (27 ounces from 17.34m to 17.72m of decline).

Orinoco is continuing to develop the exploration decline along strike at Cascavel to further delineate additional high-grade shoots and evaluate the optimal development and mining method for Cascavel, including the potential for an open pit to extract the shallow mineralisation.

Detailed mapping and sampling is conducted after each blast while all material removed from the decline is stockpiled.

Visible gold continues to be evident past the point of the reported assays.

Orinoco Gold managing director Mark Papendieck said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“These results, together with the information we have gained from drilling and bulk sampling support our view that Cascavel is a substantial high-grade gold systemwith outstanding near-term development potential,”

“We continue to be pleasantly surprised by the extent of the high-grade mineralisation so close to surface which may be amenable to extraction via low-cost gravity methods.

“In addition to continuing to evaluate potential underground mining scenarios possible with our existing licencing arrangements, the exploration decline is showing that there is plenty of potential for an open pit at Cascavel.

“Importantly, on a broader scale we know from our earlier drilling that the unit which hosts these high-grade mineralised quartz veins has an extensive strike.

“The fact that we can continue to discover new high-grade gold shoots in an area in which we had already conducted some drilling gives us a lot of encouragement about the potential for further coarse gold discoveries in the approximately twenty kilometre long Sertão – Cascavel corridor.”

Email: info@orinocgold.com

Website: www.orinocgold.com

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Sheffield Resources (ASX:SFX) has received results from high-powered Moving and Fixed Loop Transient Electromagnetic (MLTEM& FLTEM) ground geophysical surveys at the company’s Red Bull nickel-copper project, located within 20 kilometres of Sirius Resources’ (ASX: SIR) Nova nickel-copper deposit, in the Fraser Range Nickel Province of Western Australia.

The MLTEM survey was completed at the Earlobe and Stud prospects, where previous aircore drilling had identified nickel-copper-cobalt anomalism.

Sheffield said the survey had identified a broad, deep conductive anomaly immediately to the west of the Earlobe prospect (anomaly RBD1), and several local zones of strong polarisation coincident with drillhole geochemical anomalies at the Stud prospect.

 

RBD1 conductor FLTEM model result. Source: Company announcement

 

A single FLTEM survey was then completed over RBD1 to better define the conductor and provide for more robust drill target design.

Sheffield’s geophysical consultants have modelled the RBD1 conductive source as large (350 x 1,200m), striking WNW-ESE with moderate NNE plunge and a depth to top of about 550-600m.

RBD1 is located at the junction of three interpreted faults and Sheffield’s main target mafic/ultramafic domain.

Sheffield considers the RBD1 conductor to be an exciting new target, with similar hallmarks to Sirius Resources’ nearby Nova discovery.

“Although the target is deep, we are encouraged by the high conductance levels, large scale and favourable geological setting,” Sheffeild Resources managing director Bruce McQuitty said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“This is a similar sized conductor, with similar conductance, to Sirius Resources’ main Nova conductor.

“The IP anomalies at Stud are also encouraging, being located in an area of significant nickel-copper-cobalt anomalism where disseminated nickel and copper sulphides have been observed in end-of-hole aircore drill chips.

“Sheffield’s value is underpinned by the world class Thunderbird mineral sands project, however we are well funded to continue the search for high value nickel targets in the Fraser Range and drilling of this target will be prioritised in our 2014 exploration program.”

Email: info@sheffieldresources.com.au

Website: www.sheffieldresources.com.au