THE DRILL SERGEANT: Peel Mining (ASX: PEX) has received further encouraging results from exploration drilling at the company’s Mallee Bull project with drillhole MBDD009 intersecting a broad 72 metres zone of variable stringer/breccia sulphide mineralisation.

The intersection included an approximate 18m zone of intense chalcopyrite-dominant mineralisation from 542m.

Peel said the intercept represents the deepest hit it has encountered to date at the Mallee Bull project and indicates copper-dominant sulphide mineralisation now extends from about 150m below surface to at least 600m below surface.

Cross section with drill results. Source: Company announcement

“Geological logging shows important mineralisation in MBDD009 occurring as an approx. three metre pyrite-dominated semi-massive sulphide zone from approx. 500 metres followed by a 72 metre zone of variable stringer/breccia sulphide mineralisation from approx. 532 metres,” Peel Mining explained in its ASX announcement.

“Within the stringer/breccia zone is an 18 metre zone of intense mineralisation from 542 metres.

“The true width of the mineralised zones is interpreted to be approx. 50 per cent of the downhole intercepts.”

Peel conducted handheld XRF analysis and geological logging, which it said indicated the 18m zone from 542m to be strongly mineralised with chalcopyrite (copper).

Comparable mineralisation the company has reported in other Phase 2 drillholes has yielded individual metres grading up to 10 per cent copper and 250 grams per tonne silver.
 
“The drill result returned from MBDD009 underscores the importance of using DHEM as an effective exploration tool, with the zone of intense chalcopyrite-dominant mineralisation occurring within 10 metres of the DHEM “plate” modelling,” Peel claimed.

“This modelling implies a large and/or highly conducting causative body plunging to the north and also exhibits a strong correlation with 3D TMI (magnetic) inversion modelling.”

Peel outlined the northerly plunging geometry of the modelled conductor plates it had previously reported is consistent with 3D inversion modelling of total magnetic intensity (TMI) data collected during the VTEM survey of the 4-Mile area.

3D TMI inversion modelling carried out by the company has demonstrated the magnetic anomaly associated with the Mallee Bull prospect as a northerly plunging, horn-like feature extending out of the core of the very large Butcher’s Dog magnetic anomaly 1km north.

MBDD009 is the final drillhole of Phase 2 exploration and Peel said it anticipates assay results to be available in several weeks time.

DHEM surveying of MBDD009 is now underway.

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Mineral sands explorer Sheffield Resources (ASX: SFX) has received initial mineral assemblage testwork results from recent activity conducted at the company’s Dampier heavy mineral sand (HMS) project near Derby in the Kimberley Region of Western Australia.

Sheffield claims the results have confirmed the anticipated high in-situ zircon content of the Thunderbird HMS discovery.

The company said the mineral assemblage results indicate a high in-situ zircon content of 0.6 per cent for the high-grade domain.

It arrived at this figure by multiplying the average zircon content of 6.6 per cent  by the average grade within the high-grade domain of nine per cent  HM.

The high-grade domain averages 15m thickness over an area of 12 square kilometres and remains open in all directions.

Summary plan of results of the 71 drill holes received to date,
showing the area containing intersections greater than 5 per cent HM on a
greyscale elevation image. Grades within this area average 9 per cent
HM and the mineralisation averages 15m thickness. Source: Company
announcement

Sheffield said the results place Thunderbird in the top tier of zircon deposits worldwide.

“There are few heavy mineral sands deposits of this scale with higher in situ zircon content,” Sheffield Resources managing director Bruce McQuitty said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“The Thunderbird discovery is proving to be both high-grade and large scale, presenting an outstanding opportunity for Sheffield to emerge as a major HMS developer.”

Sheffield explained it had determined the mineral assemblages using QEMSCAN on 35 composited HM samples from 14 drill holes.

The composites were selected from high, medium and low grade ‘domains’, corresponding to five per cent  HM, two per cent  HM and one per cent  HM cut-offs, respectively.

For the high and medium grade domains, the initial mineral assemblage averages 7.1 per cent zircon, 1.2 per cent rutile, 1.4 per cent high titanium-leucoxene, 2.9 per cent leucoxene, and 31.7 per cent ilmenite, with the zircon content ranging up to 12.3 per cent  in certain sections of the deposit.

The company considers these results indicate mineralogical variability within the thick, high-grade heavy-mineral intervals.

The composite samples were selected from just 14 of the first 71 drill holes for which assay results have been received.

Further QEMSCAN analyses will be undertaken once assay results from the remaining 93 holes of the maiden drilling program have been received.

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Aphrodite Gold (ASX: AQQ) has kicked off the next phase of Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling at the company’s Aphrodite gold project located 65 kilometres north of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia.

The company currently has a Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) for development of the project in progress having completed a positive Scoping Study earlier this year.

The drilling program is expected to total around 7,000 metres and will involve drilling of the Alpha and Phi Lodes, which host the existing Aphrodite gold deposit JORC resource containing 7.31 million tonnes at 2.75 grams per tonne gold for 645,000 ounces (Indicated) and 2.87 million tonnes at 4.30 grams per tonne gold for 395,000 ounces (Inferred) totalling 10.18 million tonnes at 3.18 grams per tonne gold for 1.04 million ounces.

The company hopes to enhance the classification of the resource for future mine studies, which will form part of the PFS.

Aphrodite said it will also be testing cross cutting lodes between the Alpha and Phi (referred to as the Epsilon structures) to ascertain their resource potential.

Exploratory drilling conducted by Aphrodite to date has reported narrow, medium to high-grade gold intersections.

The company indicated that should this drilling be successful a maiden JORC resource estimate will be completed for the mineralised corridor between the Alpha and Phi lodes.

The company also intends targeting other gold prospects to better ascertain their resource potential.

Its objective is to identify and delineate additional resources during the PFS and subsequent feasibility studies to improve the currently estimated nine year life of the project, project economics and overall gold production profile.

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Monteray Mining Group (ASX: MRY) has received Program of Works approval to commence an RC drilling program on the company’s Triple 3 project located near Kalgoorlie in Western Australia.

The objective of the 13 hole campaign is to follow up a previous discovery hole drilled in 2004 of 6 metres at 12.75 grams per tonne gold from 40 metres, including 1 metre at 20.5 grams per tonne gold at the bottom of the hole (46m).

“Recent exploration success targeting granite-hosted deposits by others in the region has supported the company’s decision to follow up this high-grade discovery by previous explorers,” Monteray Mining Group director John Hannaford said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“Drilling should commence within two to three weeks and be completed by the end of November.

“Any successful delineation of a potential resource in this area will be able to take full advantage of regional project development and production activity and infrastructure.”

The Triple 3 prospect is located within the Archaean Norseman – Wiluna Greenstone belt, which is also host to the Kalgoorlie and Kambalda deposits.

Triple 3 prospect location in relation to other tenement holdings in the east goldfields region. Source: Company announcement

Nearby operating mines include the Mount Monger project, which includes the Daisy Milano mine operated by Silver Lake Resources (ASX: SLR) as well as the Randalls project, which is currently operated by Integra Mining (ASX: IGR).

Monteray explained that the Triple 3 prospect has undergone previous exploration conducted by Aurion Gold and Placer Dome Asia Pacific from 2001 to 2003 as part of the Greater Monger project.

This activity consisted of drilling 110 RAB holes and 2 Diamond holes on the tenement.

Best RAB results achieved at the time included:

On line 220mN

–     4m at 4.33 grams per tonne gold from 32m; and

–    6m at 12.75g/t gold from 40m, including 1m at 20.5 g/t gold (at BOH 46m)

On Line 180mN

–    4m at 4.6g/t gold from 32m.

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Northern Minerals (ASX: NTU) has received results from a recent drilling program carried out at the company’s Browns Range project in northern Western Australia.

According to the company the drilling has produced some sizeable heavy rare earths (HRE) intersections at new mineralised zones.

The exploration program included first pass drilling across a number of new targets at Browns Range   with more than 5,600 metres of Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling at the Mystique, Banshee, Sabretooth and Cyclops prospects and 8,400m at the existing Gambit and Area 5 prospects.

Highlights of the recent work include:

–    The newly drilled area at Gambit West produced a new zone of HRE – extending the mineralised Gambit geological structure to more than one kilometre strike potential;

–    Mineralisation extended at Area 5 prospect with assay results of up to 11 metres at 1.15 per cent total rare earth oxides (TREO) from 11 metres and 7 metres at 3.83 per cent TREO from 119m;

–    First pass drilling at Mystique has identified HRE mineralisation, with intersections up to 10m at 0.73 per cent TREO;

–    First pass drilling at Banshee identified HRE mineralisation, with intersections up to 14m at 0.52 per cent TREO from 95m and 10m at 0.71 per cent TREO from 68m; and

–    A broad zone of shallow low-grade mineralisation was intersected at Banshee with results of 12m at 0.25 per cent TREO from surface.

Northern Minerals said the results it has received to date have confirmed HRE mineralisation at the Mystique and Banshee targets, with high-grade intersections at a new area west of the established Gambit prospect.

Drilling at Gambit prospect. Source: Company announcement

In addition, the extent of HRE mineralisation has been increased at the Area 5 prospect.

Assay results for the RC drilling completed within the central Gambit area are currently still pending.

The company considers the results to be a boost for the Browns Range project, where it is aiming to produce a maiden JORC resource before the end of 2012 at the advanced Wolverine prospect.

Northern Minerals said the initial results had supported the potential for further significant HRE discoveries similar to the Wolverine and Gambit prospects.

“These are outstanding drill results, which confirm some significant new HRE discoveries at Browns Range, and highlight the fact that we have really only just started to tap into the regional potential of the project,” Northern Minerals managing director George Bauk said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“While the Wolverine prospect continues to deliver and is currently being progressed toward a JORC resource status, we also have a pipeline of earlier stage projects which we are working to prove up as part of our strategy to build a significant mineral inventory in the region for the future.

“The new discovery at west Gambit is particularly exciting, and indicates a more significant mineralised geological structure in the Gambit region which we will continue to test.”