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.

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Dual-listed Southern Hemisphere Mining (ASX: SUH, TSXV: SH) has reported an increase in the Measured category of the Mineral Resource for the company’s Llahuin copper-gold project in central Chile.

The company said the increase provides it with further confidence in the robustness and quality of the deposit ahead of additional resource extension drilling planned for later this year.

The June 2013 Mineral Resource update includes the most recent drilling Southern Hemisphere has completed up to 31 March, 2013 under the Llahuin Joint Venture arrangements with global base metals miner Lundin Mining Corporation.

Southern Hemisphere explained that Lundin recently committed to proceed with the next phase of sole-funded exploration expenditure at Llahuin, comprising US$10 million to increase its interest from the current 20 per cent to 51 per cent.

Lundin can earn up to 75 per cent of the Llahuin project in three phases by spending a total of up to US$35 million.

Most of the recent drilling has been in-fill drilling, resulting in a substantial amount of material within the Indicated Resource category being upgraded to the Measured Resource category.

The Measured Resource for the Llahuin project now stands at 112 million tonnes at 0.42 per cent copper equivalent and equates to 344,000 tonnes of copper and 433,000 ounces of gold.

This represents a 26 per cent increase in Measured Resource tonnage, compared with the JORC and NI 43-101 Mineral Resource estimate Southern Hemisphere completed in September 2012, using the same 0.28 per cent copper equivalent cut off.

Additional drilling within the higher grade core in the Central Porphyry Zone has increased the Measured Resource in this section to 60 million tonnes, an 18 per cent tonnage increase, when compared with the September 2012 resource estimate.

The Inferred Resource of 20 million tonnes grading 0.36 per cent copper equivalent has increased by 20 per cent compared with the September 2012 Mineral Resource.

The overall Measured and Indicated Resource has increased compared with the September 2012 Mineral Resource (Measured and Indicated) of 145 million tonnes to currently sit at 149 million tonnes at 0.42 per cent copper equivalent.

 

Chart showing growth of the Llahuin project Mineral Resource during last 12 months of drilling. Source: Company announcement

 

The company indicated the increase reflects its focus on infill drilling within the Central Porphyry Zone.

“The increase in the Measured resource category gives the company greater confidence in the quality and potential of the Llahuin project as the foundation for future mine development,” Southern Hemisphere Mining managing director Trevor Tennant said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“The next steps for this project will be to further expand the resource in the Cerro de Oro Zone and Ferrocarril Zones with ongoing drilling as these zones remain open.

“Comments contained within the independent resource estimate note that there are two higher grade drill hole intercepts at depth within the Ferrocarril Zone which require further drilling in the surrounding area.

“We believe we have a very significant copper-gold project on our hands at Llahuin and we are looking forward to progressing it to the next level.”

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Enterprise Uranium (ASX: ENU) has been granted two applications for co-funded drilling by the Western Australia Department of Mines and Resources under Round 7 of the co-funded Government Exploration Incentive Scheme (EIS).

Enterprise is to receive a WA Government co-funded drilling grant of up to $75,000 for RC drill testing of palaoechannel uranium targets in the Byro project area, located within the valley of the Murchison River near Wooleen Station.

The company was also granted WA Government co-funding of up to $90,000 for RC drill testing of palaeochannel hosted uranium targets in the vicinity of Lake Yindana at the Ponton project in the Yilgarn Craton.

 

Project location plan. Source: Company announcement

 

“These awards, under independent peer reviewed competitive conditions, are a strong endorsement of the quality of the company’s targets and Enterprise’s technical capability,” Enterprise Uranium said in the company’s ASX announcement.

“The company expects to begin its drilling program at Byro in early July 2013.

“Enterprise also wishes to thank the WA State Government for its strong support of the mineral exploration industry through the Exploration Incentive Scheme.”
Under the terms of the Agreement with the Government, 50 per cent of company funds spent on the approved drilling programs at the Byro and Ponton projects will be refunded, up to the value of each grant.

The Round 7 funds are available for drilling up until 30 June 2014.

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Ventnor Resources (ASX: VRX) has achieved further sulphide intersections during a recently completed deep drilling campaign at the company’s Thaduna/Green Dragon project, located north of Meekatharra in Western Australia.

Ventnor said all the holes from the latest deep drilling campaign intersected visible copper sulphide mineralisation.

The company highlighted the significance of the continued presence of high-grade bornite and primary chalcocite within the mineralised zones.

 

The positions of the holes plotted on a long-section. Source: Company announcement

 

“We are further encouraged by these recent holes as they have similar mineralogy to previous high grade intersections and extend the known zone,” Ventnor Resources managing director Bruce Maluish said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“Bornite has become the high-grade indicator in the deeper drilling and the dominant mineralisation encountered.”

Ventnor explained that Bornite contains highignificant levels of copper and is potentially high-grade ore when encountered.

“We continue to intersect widths of sulphide that potentially are suitable for economic underground mining,” Maluish said.

The company is now waiting on assays it expects will be delivered shortly from an additional four shallow diamond holes, which were drilled below the Thaduna pit to provide geotechnical and metallurgical samples and indicate significant widths of mineralisation.

The additional assay results would be included in an update of the current 142,200 copper tonnes JORC Resource for Thaduna/Green Dragon.

“We will incorporate these new hits into our updated Resource model to be used in the Bankable Feasibility Study,” Maluish said.

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Azure Minerals (ASX: AZS) has received results from the first three drill holes from the company’s Cascada copper-gold-silver project, located in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico.

Azure has received assays from the first three holes of the program, which include an exceptional drill intercept of 129 metres at 2.9 per cent copper equivalent (CuEq), including a high-grade zone of 10m at 14 per cent CuEq.

Two of the holes (APR-DD-089 and 090) returned long widths of copper, gold and silver mineralisation, including some high-grade intervals while the third hole (APR-DD-088) intersected minor copper mineralisation within a gold-rich zone.

 

Cascada drill location plan with completed holes in green and planned holes in yellow. Source: Company announcement

 

“Not only have we hit a remarkable 129 metre long mineralised intercept in hole 089 grading 2.85 per cent CuEq, but hole 090 returned 70 metres at 1.9 per cent CuEq and hole 088 hit a gold-rich zone of 13 metres grading 2.1 g/t gold and 23 g/t silver,” Azure Minerals managing director Tony Rovira said in the company’s announcement tote Australian Securities Exchange.

“These are tremendous results for the first three holes drilled in this campaign.”

Individual samples returned assays up to 30.4 per cent copper, 9.2 grams per tonne gold and 658 grams per tonne silver.

Drill intercepts include:

APR-DD-088

–    12.7m at 1.95 per cent CuEq (0.38 per cent copper, 2.14g/t gold and 23g/t silver) from 79.3m, contained within a gold-rich zone of 23.7m at 1.49g/t gold and 16g/t silver from 72.30m.

APR-DD-089

–    128.95m at 2.85 per cent CuEq (1.95 per cent copper, 0.72g/t gold and 42g/t silver) from 41.2m, including an upper high-grade zone of 18.7m at 9.46 per cent CuEq (6.83 per cent copper, 1.02g/t gold and 180g/t silver) from 73.35m.

Includes an internal higher grade zone of:

–    10.03m at 14.3 per cent CuEq (10.2 per cent copper, 1.31g/t gold and 299g/t silver) from 76.07m

And a deeper high grade zone of:

–    30.95 at 3.05 per cent CuEq (2.16 per cent copper, 0.82g/t gold and 36g/t silver) from 123.35m

APR-DD-090

–    70.48m at 1.91 per cent CuEq (1.01 per cent copper, 1.09g/t gold and 22g/t silver) from 31.00m, including a higher grade zone of 10.16m at 3.97 per cent CuEq (3.26 per cent copper, 0.44g/t gold and 43g/t silver) from 85.55m.

“These exceptional drill results have delivered good widths of high grade copper, gold and silver mineralisation, with hole 089 returning a longer intercept at higher grades than the discovery hole 087.

“I believe these results confirm Cascada’s potential to host a significant body of copper mineralisation.

“Highlights are not only the widths of mineralisation intersected so far, but also the presence of high-grade copper in three of the four holes for which we have received assays.

“Combining this with the additional benefits of high grades of silver (up to 658g/t) and gold (up to 9.2g/t) makes Cascada a very exciting project indeed.

“We believe that, in addition to the already financially robust deposit we have defined at Promontorio, these Cascada results will lead to an increase in the project’s overall resource base and significantly enhance the economics of the project.