Gryphon adds further Stinger to Banfora tale

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Gryphon Minerals (ASX: GRY) has received infill and step out RC and DD drilling results from shallow multiple zones at the Stinger Mineralised Corridor, at the company’s Banfora gold project in Burkina Faso, West Africa.

The latest drilling results are from Reverse Circulation (RC) and Diamond drilling programs being conducted at Gryphon’s new Stinger gold deposit located approximately 10 kilometres to the east of the Nogbele gold deposit.

Drill results are from the main Stinger mineralised zone as well as two more parallel mineralised zones located within a few kilometres to the west of Stinger and within what the company has labelled the ‘Stinger mineralised corridor’.

Gryphon said the results from the main Stinger mineralised zone are a combination of step out and infill it designed to target shallow mineralisation down to approximately 150 metres vertical depth.

 

Stinger gold deposit selection of drill holes. Source: Company announcement

 

Mineralisation at the Stinger gold deposit sub-crops at surface and continues to be open along strike and down dip with drilling ongoing.

“These latest drill results once again demonstrate the world class nature of the Banfora gold project,” Gryphon Minerals managing director Steve Parsons said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“The results from these parallel zones are exciting as they have potential to add further shallow gold ounces to future resource growth at the Banfora gold project.

“We look forward to further drill results including new regional results in the coming weeks as well as the completion of the Definitive Feasibility Study on Banfora, and the Pre-Feasibility Studies on the additional heap leach potential.”

Gryphon recently announced an Independent JORC and NI43-101 compliant resource estimate of 4.5 million ounces gold at the Banfora gold project.

Of this the Stinger gold deposit maiden inferred resource estimate contributed 9.5 million tonnes at 1.8 grams per tonne gold for 560,000 ounces of gold (at 0.9g/t cut-off).

The company said it considers this to be an interim resource estimate and these latest drill results will be included in its next resource estimate.

Stinger is currently being in-fill RC and diamond drilled on 40m by 20m spacings to bring it into the measured & indicated resource category as well undergoing as step out and deeper drilling from 100m to 150m vertical depth to increase the size of its overall resource estimate.

Gryphon is currently conducting a Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS), which proposes a gold mill and process plant to be located in the vicinity of the Nogbele gold deposit located approximately 10km to the west of the Stinger deposit.

The DFS anticipates Stinger gold mineralisation will be trucked to the central mill and processing plant.

The company is undertaking a detailed review on a potential staged plus-2 million tonnes per annum start-up operation that could be up-scaled to 4Mtpa at a later date.

This review is to run in parallel with the current DFS and Gryphon expects to announce results before the end of the year.

White Cliff hits two new mineralised zones

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: White Cliff Minerals (ASX: WCN) has completed six diamond holes targeting conductive electromagnetic (EM) anomalies within an ultramafic rock sequence at the company’s Lake Johnston project in Western Australia.

White Cliff said it had intersected sulphide zones ranging in width from one metre to five metres in five of the six holes, which the company considers to explain the targeted electromagnetic conductors.

“The sulphide zones consist of pyrite and/or pyrrhotite with three holes containing minor visible sphalerite (zinc sulphide),” White Cliff Minerals said in its ASX announcement.

“No visible nickel sulphides were identified. The sulphide zones have been submitted for assay and results are expected over the next three weeks.”

 

Regional geology map showing tenement holdings, mine locations and
the location of the Mt Gordon and Lake Percy prospects. Source: Company
announcement

White Cliff said the sixth hole drilled into the western ultramafic unit intersected two zones of silver at 34 and 76 metres respectively.

The upper zone contained:

–    2 metres at 71 grams per tonne silver with trace gold, copper and tungsten.

The lower zone contained:

–    1m at 144g/t silver, 0.1 per cent copper, 0.04g/t gold and traces of tungsten.

Both mineralised zones occurred on the contact between ultramafic and felsic porphyry rocks.

Silver and gold mineralisation was also identified at surface with 3m at 14.5g/t silver and 34ppb gold.

White Cliff said it now intends to carry out a soil geochemistry survey to establish the extent and intensity of the surface silver and gold anomaly to allow future drilling to be effectively targeted.

The drill program was partly funded by the Western Australian Government’s Royalty for Regions Exploration Incentive Scheme which will contribute $90,000 towards the drilling at Lake Percy.

White Cliff is currently undertaking an extensive geophysical survey to evaluate areas of the Lake Percy tenement not previously tested with geophysics.

To date the survey has identified six new conductors; two to the northwest of the current drilling program within the eastern ultramafic sequence and four in the southern corner of the tenement within the central ultramafic sequence.

Each conductive target sits on or adjacent to an ultramafic contact that White Cliff considers having the potential to host nickel sulphide mineralisation.

White Cliff was able to completed diamond drilling at the Lake Percy prospect, however drilling at the Mt Gordon site was deferred due to heavy rain limiting access to drill sites.

The Mt Gordon drilling program has been rescheduled for early 2013.

Cauldron eager to commence exploration at Marree project

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Cauldron Energy (ASX: CXU) has fast-tracked exploration activities, including drilling, at the company’s Marree project in South Australia.

The program follows the recent discovery of a large eight kilometre by 10 kilometre silver-lead-zinc anomaly the company announced in October.

“The Board is firmly of the view that the significance of this silver-lead-zinc anomaly, in terms of value, is potentially immense and therefore we are committed to undertaking exploration activities on it as soon as practically possible.” Cauldron Energy head of operations Simon Youds said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“We have been able to source and apply the required technical resources to this exploration program, and we look forward to commencing high resolution geophysics and a high density geochemical soil program in the coming days, ahead of a drill program commencing in mid-December 2012.

“For the first time, modern exploration tools will be used to test the exciting potential of this extensive alteration zone.”

 

Map of tenements, initial drill target generation exploration
program outlines T1 and T2, initial sample locations. Source: Company
announcement

 

Cauldron has approximately 6,000 soil sample geochemical program planned to extensively cover the target area, which is to coincide with a high density Geophysical Gravity survey.

The initial program has been designed to target gravity and soil anomalies consistent with significant silver-lead-zinc metal sulphide mineralisation of the Broken Hill or Sedimentary Exhalative type deposits.

Cauldron anticipates the results from the initial geophysical and geochemical surveys will be available in the field from the end of November 2012.

Subject to receipt of approvals from various stakeholders, the company said it expects drilling its initial target at the project in early December 2012, with results available for release to the market by mid- December 2012.

Follow up work to the initial program, including Induced Polarisation Geophysics (IP) and continued (in-fill) soil sampling, will be conducted in order to define areas around historically known mineralisation.

The company said this should calibrate the IP geophysical tool for the region, enabling it to be used on all the anomalies identified prior to the commencement of drilling activities.

Cauldron is confident this calibration activity will improve the drill success ratio and cost effectiveness of any drilling program.

Kumarina results continue to flow for Horseshoe Metals

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Horseshoe Metals (ASX: HOR) has received results from exploration activities being conducted at the company’s 100 per cent-owned Kumarina copper project and Horseshoe Lights copper/gold project in Western Australia.

The company has completed its latest phase of Reverse Circulation percussion (RC) drilling at the Kumarina project with drilling undertaken in the Rinaldi, North Show, Review East and Kumarina copper mine areas.

The primary aim of the drilling was to test for extensions of copper mineralisation identified in 2011 drilling programs.

Horseshoe drilled 13 holes at the Rinaldi prospect with the latest drilling in this area encountering shallow extensions to the copper mineralisation previously identified.

Results included:
 
–    24m at 3.1 per cent copper from 46 to 70 metres, including 3 metres at 12.3 per cent copper and 1 metre at 9.4 per cent copper;

–    7m at 5.9 per cent copper from 12 to 19m, including 2m at 13.6 per cent copper;

–    3m at 4.2 per cent copper from 11 to 14m, including 1m at 7.5 per cent copper; and

–    5m at 2.2 per cent copper from 17 to 22m, including 1m at 3.9 per cent copper.

 

Rinaldi drill hole location plan. Source: Company announcement

 

“The shallow copper mineralisation observed in these holes occurs as malachite within the weathered zone,” Horseshoe Metals said in its ASX announcement.

“Lower grade intervals of copper were recorded in eight of the nine remaining holes drilled in the immediate Rinaldi Prospect area.”

Horseshoe drilled an additional 18 holes further to the north to test for northward extensions of the Rinaldi Prospect copper mineralisation.

Low grade copper mineralisation was recorded in four of these holes, which the company said confirmed copper mineralisation extends for a distance of at least 600 metres north from the Rinaldi shaft.

“Observations from the latest drilling confirm that the copper mineralisation at the Rinaldi prospect is predominantly quartz vein hosted, with the main concentration of quartz veins occurring within a quartz diorite sill,” Horseshoe explained.

“However the copper mineralisation appears to be structurally controlled within a north-south fault zone.”

Another 3 holes were drilled at the North Show prospect to test for extensions to copper mineralisation identified in the 2011 drilling.

All holes intersected low grade copper mineralisation with best intervals recorded of 6m at 0.4 per cent copper (13-19m) and 10m at 0.3 per cent copper (23-33m).
 
At Review East 2 holes were drilled about 100m south-west of historic workings.
 
Both holes intersected low-grade copper mineralisation of up to 4m at 0.4 per cent copper.

Horseshoe considers this to have confirmed the presence of copper in a NE-SW orientated fault.

“This fault runs through the Review East prospect and appears to be a dislocated extension of the NE-SW fault running through the North Show prospect which is located about 3 kilometres to the south-west,” the company said.

Two holes drilled at the Kumarina copper mine prospect failed to intersect any significant copper mineralisation.

Despite this result Horseshoe said the geological information obtained will assist in the planning of future drilling at this prospect.

Horseshoe Metals is starting a follow-up RC drilling program this week at the Kumarina project.

The drilling program will focus on in-fill and step-out holes at the Rinaldi prospect.

Impact cashed up and drilling

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: After raising $5.7 million via a placement and entitlement issue to eligible shareholders, Impact Minerals (ASX: IPT) t has commenced drilling at the Xade copper-nickel-PGE project.

Impact Minerals is earning a 51 per cent stake in the project.

The Xade project covers a poorly explored gabbro intrusion in central Botswana.

 

Location of Impact’s projects in Botswana. Source: Company announcement

 

Impact considers the project to hold potential to host deposits of copper-nickel sulphides and PGE’s.

The planned drilling program is to consist of five holes to depths of up to 700 metres to test five areas of interest the company has generated from the interpretation of detailed airborne magnetic and geochemistry studies.

“The five Xade drill targets were generated from the interpretation of our own detailed airborne magnetic and soil geochemistry surveys and our objective is to use Reverse Circulation drilling to the base of the Karoo Supergroup rocks that overlie the Xade Complex, followed by diamond drilling into the gabbro,” Impact Minerals managing director Dr Mike Jones said.

The drill program will comprise reverse circulation drilling to the base of the Karoo Supergroup that overlies the Xade Complex, followed by diamond core drilling in the gabbro.

The Xade Complex occurs in the North West Botswana Rift, an igneous and sedimentary province of similar age and geological characteristics to the Midcontinent Rift region of North America, and which hosts many major copper-nickel-PGE deposits.

“Results of detailed and systematic geochemical analyses and relogging of about 320 metres of Xade diamond drill core completed by previous explorers confirms our view that the Xade Complex is very prospective for deposits of nickel, copper and PGE’s,” Jones said.

“In addition to the Xade program, we anticipate that drilling will commence in early 2013 at our Red Hills uranium prospect in Botswana and whose mineral assemblage is comparable with some of the world’s highest grade uranium deposits of similar Protoerzoic age.”

Bulletin recommences Lamboo drilling

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Bulletin Resources (ASX: BNR) has recommenced drilling at the company’s Lamboo project near Halls Creek in Western Australia.

Drilling will be carried out to expand the resource extending below the Nicolson’s Find and Nicolson’s South open pits lateral to the company’s planned underground development for the project.

 

Long projection of Nicolson’s resource outline with planned
underground development and drilling target areas. Source: Company
announcement

Drilling is also planned to test the depth potential of the Nicolson’s North prospect and the interpreted host structure linking the Wagtail South and Wagtail North resources.

“Following our successful capital raising, Bulletin is pleased to have recommenced drilling on its key resource growth targets,” Bulletin resources managing director Martin Phillips said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.
 
“The primary objective of the current program is to expand the underground resource at Nicolson’s as well as investigating the depth potential of the Wagtail and Nicolson’s North deposits.”

An independent study was recently completed at Lamboo by Optiro, which estimated the total potential of all exploration targets within the project at approximately 4 to 7 million tonnes containing 0.7 to 1.1 million ounces at an average grade of 5.2 to 5.4 grams per tonne gold.

“The other exploration targets identified in Optiro’s study are planned to be progressively tested in 2013,” Phillips said.

Beadell announces preliminary Duckhead Resource

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Beadell Resources (ASX: BDR) has announced a preliminary open pit resource for the Duckhead deposit at Tucano in Brazil.

The company claimed the new resource defines Duckhead as one of the highest grade and lowest cost open pittable gold deposits in the world.

The new Duckhead JORC resource totals 94,000 tonnes at 30.9 grams per tonne gold for 93,000 ounces.

It comprises a JORC Indicated resource of 83,000 tonnes at 31.07g/t for 83,000 ounces of gold and JORC Inferred resources of 11,000 tonnes at 29.9g/t gold for 10,000 ounces of gold at a 1.5g/t lower cut-off.

Beadell indicated the inferred resource represents only the deepest extension of the block model where further drilling is required.

The Duckhead high-grade lode is overlain by a small colluvium resource which forms a thin veneer of ore totalling 31,000 tonnes at 1.7g/t for 2,000 ounces at a 1.5g/t lower cut-off.

 

Duckhead plan showing location of new RC drill results. Source: Company announcement

 

“This is an extraordinary oxide open pit resource which is still expanding,” Beadell Resources managing director Peter Bowler said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“We are liaising closely with Anglo Ferrous personnel to facilitate a timely commencement date for this extremely low cost gold resource.

“The reserve statement will be released shortly and with the inclusion of the significant amount of friable iron ore contained within the proposed open pit, which is compensated on a cost recovery basis by Anglo Ferrous under the Duckhead Agreement, will result in one of the lowest cost gold mining operations globally.

“Additionally, the new drilling results released today are highly significant and indicate that the Duckhead deposit will continue to grow with ongoing drilling.”

New drilling results from the recently-discovered hangingwall lode include:

–    33 metres at 2.9g/t gold from 16 metres, including 14 metres at 5g/t gold from 17 metres; and

–    43m at 1.7g/t gold from surface, including 7m at 3.1g/t gold from 21m.

The company explained these new hangingwall intersections are located immediately southeast of the main high-grade lode and are not yet included in the resource model.

Beadell is currently undertaking RC drilling to extend the hangingwall lode to the southeast.

New drill results were also received from a direct down dip extension of the main high grade lode.

Results included:

–    14m at 7.4 g/t gold from 152m to bottom of the hole, including 4m at 23g/t gold from 152m.

Beadell said this result represents the deepest intersection of the main high-grade lode to date, which remains in completely oxidised ore.

Diamond drilling has commenced to further extend the main high grade lode and resource at depth.

Aguia scores again from phosphate drilling in Brazil

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: South America-focused fertiliser development company Aguia Resources (ASX: AGR) has received more encouraging drilling results from the company’s Três Estradas phosphate project located in the state of Rio Grande do Sul in southern Brazil.

Following up its announcement to the ASX last week Aguia has received assays from an additional 15 RC holes with assays still pending for a further seven diamond and 54 RC holes.

Results from shallow reverse circulation drilling include:

–    30 metres at 11.5 per cent phosphate, including 21 metres at 13.9 per cent phosphate, including 9 metres at 16.1 per cent phosphate;

–    30m at 9.50 per cent phosphate, including 7m at 15.81 per cent phosphate, including 3m at 23.2 per cent phosphate; and

–    13m at 10.8 per cent phosphate, including 10m at 12.3 per cent phosphate,, including 2m at 16.1 per cent phosphate.

(All intervals are from surface and within the current resource estimate)

Três Estradas cross section showing results of shallow RC drilling
in oxide material and deeper diamond drilling results. Source: Company
announcement

“These results have further confirmed the high grade nature of the oxide zone that extends from surface to depths in excess of 30 metres,” Aguia Resources managing director Simon Taylor said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“The shallow nature of the oxide zone combined with initial beneficiation test work results that have produced concentrate grades up to 36 per cent phosphate represents an excellent opportunity to initiate early start up by mining and processing of the high grade oxide zone.

“The oxide zone is easily accessible sitting on a ridge top that provides low stripping and mining costs.

“An early start up would provide cash flow to fund ongoing capex and development of the project.”

The company’s aims for the Stage 2 drilling programs are to expand the current initial JORC compliant inferred resource of 21 million tonnes at 4.6 per cent phosphate, including 1.8 million tonnes at 10.9 per cent phosphate – high grade oxide.

The diamond drilling is targeting mineralisation below 100m depth to test, define and upgrade the JORC-compliant resource category of the higher grade oxide zone that extends from surface.

Aguia said the latest results highlight the prospective nature of the TE project as they have demonstrated wide zones of phosphate mineralisation at good grades from the surface over a wide area open to depth and to the south west.

Encounter drills encouraging end-of-hole copper at BM7

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Encounter Resources (ASX: ENR) has received assay results from an ongoing drilling program being conducted as part of copper exploration activities at the company’s Yeneena project in the Paterson Province of Western Australia.

Encounter recently commenced a 5000m, seven line aircore drill program to test a southern 2.4 kilometre extension of the BM7 copper-cobalt system.

The company said the results it has received indicate a broad zone of near surface regolith anomalism across the centre of the section with higher grade, coherent copper-cobalt mineralisation identified at the eastern end of the line.

Five contiguous holes drilled at the eastern end of Line 1 all terminated in mineralised, strongly oxidized Proterozoic sediments.

 

BM7 south cross section – Eastern end of Line 1. Source: Company announcement

 

Two of the holes terminate in oxidized shale containing fine iron oxide disseminations that are interpreted to represent copper sulphide gossans.

Results from the five contiguous drill holes spanning 250m include:

–    8 metres at 0.52 per cent copper and 364 parts per million cobalt from 76 metres to end of hole (EOH), including 2 metres at 0.8 per cent copper and 464ppm cobalt from 82 metre to EOH;

–    34m at 0.43 per cent copper and 238ppm cobalt from 32m to EOH, including 6m at 0.79 per cent copper and 209ppm cobalt from 32m;

–    24m at 0.35 per cent copper and 554ppm cobalt from 28m to EOH;

–    15m at 0.46 per cent copper and 412ppm cobalt from 28m to EOH, including 4m at 0.9 per cent copper and 1042ppm cobalt from 38m; and

–    2m at 0.61 per cent copper and 804ppm cobalt from 32m to EOH.

Using a handheld XRF machine, Encounter recorded results from Lines 2, 3 and 4, which it interpreted to indicate the copper oxide anomalism intersected on Line 1 extends further to the south on a SSW orientation.

Assay results from Lines 2 and 3 are expected to be received later this month.

“The aircore drilling program was designed as a rapid reconnaissance program to collect subsurface geochemical data over a 2.4 kilometre long section of the BM7 geophysical target,” Encounter Resources said in its ASX announcement.

“A number of the aircore holes terminated in lithified cover sediments above the target depth.

“Accordingly, the company has engaged an RC drilling rig to complete a series of short sections across the BM7 South target.

“The RC drilling program will initially concentrate on the highly silicified area south of Line 4 where aircore drilling failed to penetrate through the cover sediments.

“In addition a number of RC holes will be drilled to test beneath areas of higher grade end of hole copper-cobalt mineralisation intersected in the aircore drilling.”

Encounter said it anticipates 10-15 RC holes will be drilled in this RC program for a total of 2000m of drilling.

Results from this drill program are expected in December 2012.

IMX claims discovery of two new nickel lenses in Tanzania

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: IMX Resources (ASX: IXR) has claimed discovery of two new high-grade nickel sulphide lenses from the Lightning target located 400 metres southeast of Sleeping Giant at the company’s Ntaka Hill nickel sulphide project in Tanzania.

The company recently completed a single diamond drill hole at Lightning, 100m south of H Zone to follow-up high-grade nickel sulphide mineralisation and a new off hole EM anomaly that was identified by previous drilling conducted in 2011.

 

Location of Lightning target, Ntaka Hill. Source: Company announcement

 

The new hole NAD12-281 intersected a zone of strongly disseminated to net-textured sulphides of:

–    4.5 metres at 1.92 per cent nickel and 0.26 per cent copper from 263 metres, including 1.2 metres at 3.03 per cent nickel and 0.32 per cent copper.

According to IMX a second sulphide lens of 3.2m at 1.02 per cent nickel and 0.17 per cent copper from 362.2m corresponds to the deeper off hole anomaly interpreted from borehole EM in 2011.

The company explained this deeper lens lies within an 87.1m wide disseminated nickel sulphide zone grading 0.41 per cent nickel and 0.1  per cent copper from 299.9m depth and can be correlated with mineralisation intersected in hole NAD11-252 (1.41 per cent nickel and 0.35 per cent copper over 2.5m) located 95m down-dip and 25m south of NAD12-281.

IMX considers this intersection highlights the depth potential of the Ntaka Intrusion to host additional high-grade nickel mineralisation below the current limit of drilling.

“The discovery of multiple lenses of high-grade nickel sulphides at Lightning continues to demonstrate the exceptional exploration potential of the Ntaka Hill Intrusion,” IMX Resources managing director Neil Meadows said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“New mineralisation at Lightning and the recently announced discovery of the Zeppelin Zone highlight the potential for a significant increase in mineral resources and projected mine life for the Ntaka Hill nickel sulphide project.”

Drilling and BHEM results from current hole NAD12-281 and previous holes NAD12-252 and NAD08-171EXT at the Lightning target indicate the presence of multiple, stacked, west-dipping sulphide lenses.

IMX said additional drilling will be required to define the extents of these lenses.