THE DRILL SERGEANT: Peak Resources (ASX: PEK) has received assay results from 25 new infill drill holes carried out within the central bastnaesite core of the Southern Rare Earth Zone (SREZ) at the company’s 100 per cent-owned Ngualla rare earth project in Tanzania.

The company said the results are the highest it has achieved to date at Ngualla and reconfirm the excellent grades it has previously identified at the project.

The results include the longest plus five per cent total rare earth oxide (REO) interval Peak has encountered at the Ngualla project so far of:

–    160 metres at 5.25 per cent REO from surface to end of hole.

The new drilling has reportedly intersected several continuous high-grade zones above seven  per cent REO, including:

–    24m at 7.15 per cent REO from 76m and 20m at 7.27 per cent REO from 108m;

–    12m at 7.13 per cent REO from 4m;

–    18m at 7.21 per cent REO from 8m; and

–    30m at 7.14per cent REO from 48m.

The latest round of drilling has also identified the deepest developed weathered zone of high-grade mineralisation to date, with mineralisation remaining open at a depth of 160m below surface:

–    66m at 3.06 per cent REO from surface and 36m at 3.87 per cent REO from 72m and 73m at 4.51 per cent REO from 112m to end of hole.

“Results from the infill drilling program demonstrate the continuity and consistency of high grade rare earth mineralisation from surface over substantial widths within deeply weathered carbonatite in this portion of the resource targeted for initial development,” Peak Resources said in its ASX announcement.

“The current infill drilling program in progress at Ngualla will provide the detailed data required to support feasibility studies focusing on the highest grade, near surface portion of the SREZ mineralisation targeted for first production.”

According to Peak the latest assay results have demonstrated the continued robustness of the deposit in terms of the continuity, grade and extent of the rare earth mineralisation.

Plan of new rare earth intersection highlights (new results hole
numbers labelled) and drilling completed to date coloured by maximum
down hole REO percentage, holes drilled and awaiting results and Ngualla
Mineral Resource block model (+3% REO). Source: Company announcement

Drilling is ongoing with one RC (reverse circulation) and one diamond drill rig in operation.

As of September the company had completed a total of 78 holes within the Southern Rare Earth Zone, from which there are 27 holes yet to have assays completed.

The drilling program will take several more months to complete.

Peak indicated it will calculate an updated JORC Code-compliant resource estimate once all results have been received.

THE DRILL SERGEANT: KBL Mining (ASX:KBL) has received further drilling results that it claims to confirm a new copper-gold lode directly below the current development level of its underground mining operations at Mineral Hill Mine in New South Wales.

The latest results come from an ongoing underground diamond drilling program the company is conducting with the aim of extending mining reserves below the lowest development level at 1190mRL (120 metres from surface).

The new results include:

–    3.75 metres at 7.3 per cent copper and 2 grams per tonne gold; and

–    4.45m at 8 per cent copper and 3g/t gold.

These follow previously released results that included:

–    16.1m at 3.8 per cent copper and 9g/t gold.

The company said it previously considered the Parkers Hill ore body at Mineral Hill Mine, which is currently being mined, to be restricted at depth by a shallowly west east dipping 1225 thrust.

However, it know considers the latest results to have established that the new copper-gold lode continues more than 30 metres below the current development level at 1190mRL and remains open along strike to the northeast and southwest.

This has been interpreted as a separate gold-rich style of copper mineralisation located below the 1225 thrust compared to the copper-silver rich (plus lead and zinc) Parkers Hill Resources.

Cross section showing the location of significant mineralised intervals. Source: Company announcement

“The high copper and gold grades of these intersections, directly below current mining operations, add substantial value to Mineral Hill,” KBL Mining chief executive officer Trangie Johnston said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“Accessing this new lode is possible using current equipment and personnel at minimal additional cost and quickly.

“These results also highlight the high copper and gold prospectivity of Mineral Hill at depth.”

The on-going drilling program is aimed at depth extensions and strike extensions to the southwest.

KBL said it considers the continuity of mineralisation to the south of the recent drill intersections to be highly likely with grades of plus 10 per cent copper and plus 20g/t gold already identified from sampling in the southernmost development drive on 1190mRL.

An initial Resource will be estimated for the copper-gold lodes after completion of the drilling program.

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Recent drilling completed by Emmerson Resources at the company’s 100 per cent-owned Goanna discovery has revealed two new, thick, copper intersections.

Emmerson said it considers the results demonstrate Goanna’s potential to double the strike extent of the already defined copper zones.

The company said further drilling is required to confirm the continuity of the ore body but the new holes, which were drilled 100 metres east from previous drilling now indicate a total strike extent of over 600m for the Goanna discovery.

Initial three metre composite assays from Reverse Circulation drill hole GRC1388 at Goanna East has produced intersections of:

–    81 metres at 0.45 per cent copper from 420 metres (approx. 300m below the surface), including 3 metres at 1.57 per cent copper from 420 metres and 3 metres at 2.14 per cent copper from 432 metres.

Initial 3m composite assays (table 1) from Reverse Circulation drill hole GRC1391 at the new Horner 3 prospect has produced:

–    15m at 0.49 per cent copper from 333m; and

–    15m at 0.32 per cent copper from 432m.

Goanna discovery with latest drill holes and interpreted strike potential. Source: Company announcement

“This latest drilling has the potential to add significant tonnes to the Goanna Resource,” Emmerson Resources managing director Rob Bills said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“We remain on track to update our previously announced resource (2.46 million tonnes at 2.1 per cent copper equivalent or 5 grams per tonne gold equivalent) by first quarter in 2013.

“We believe there is excellent potential to define high-grade copper and gold ore zones as we increase the drilling density throughout the remainder of this year.

“These extensions add to the overall size of the Monitor-Gecko-Goanna complex, which now represents the largest mineralised system encountered in the Tennant Creek Mineral Field.

“We have succeeded in “cracking the code” on this new style of mineralisation that was blind to previous explorers by applying state of the art detection technology such as HeliTEM combined with an innovative exploration model.

“As such, we remain confident that further discoveries will be made and not just in the immediate Monitor-Gecko-Goanna mine environment but also further afield in the green field areas.”

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Liontown Resources has commenced a new program at the company’s Jubilee Reef gold project in Northern Tanzania.

The current program was undertaken on the back of results the company received from a drilling program conducted on the project in June-July this year.

Liontown has received results from a series of ‘cross-holes’ it drilled at 90 degrees to the original drill lines in the Central Zone at the Masabi Hill prospect.

These were designed to confirm the orientation of previously reported mineralised intersections.

Results from this drilling include:

–    Up to 21 metres at 1.24 grams per tonne gold from 35 metres;

–    13m at 1.43g/t gold from 110m within broad lower grade envelopes of 62m at 0.75g/t gold from 1m; and

–    40m at 0.86g/t gold from 110m.

Liontown said the recently-drilled cross holes suggest the Central Zone mineralisation forms a pipe like structure with a steep easterly dip and a steep southerly plunge.

Masabi Hill Prospect – Drill hole plan and significant drill results. Source: Company announcement

Drilling in the Central Zone has previously defined a zone of mineralisation including:

–    27m at 2.76g/t gold from 42m (drilled in 2011);

–    21m at 4.66g/t gold from 70m (this program); and

–    68m at 1.5g/t gold from 132m (this program).

“Further work is required to resolve the variation in grade between the diamond drill holes and neighbouring RC holes, including further drilling to constrain geological and orientation factors,” Liontown Resources said in its ASX announcement.

“The results of the initial 2012 drill program suggest that, within the Central Zone syenite and marginal diorite, a gold mineralised envelope is defined over an area of 600 metres by 350 metres, which remains open to the east and north under transported cover.

“Within the Southern Zone intersections…suggest a mineralised zone that is open over 400 metres of strike, with only two drill lines testing this zone.

“Liontown is encouraged by these latest drilling results, which support previous conclusions that the Jubilee Reef project has potential to host significant widths and grades of gold mineralisation.

“A follow-up 14,000 metre drilling program has commenced, with an aircore drill rig starting on 25 August, and an RC rig expected in early September.”

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Apollo Consolidated has received preliminary assays results returned from a recently-completed eight hole reverse circulation (RC) drilling program at the Bombora prospect, situated on the company’s Rebecca project, located 150 kilometres east of Kalgoorlie.

The company claims the results have confirmed potential exists for high-grade gold mineralisation at the prospect with the first five RC drillholes all intersecting wide zones of disseminated pyrite alteration in altered granodiorite and gneiss.

The highlight of the drilling results was an intersection received from drillhole RCLR161 of:

–    42 metres at 7.75 grams per tonne gold from 61 metres;

The intersection included two high-grade segments of:

–    2m at 22.39g/t gold from 67m; and

–    3m at 65.21g/t gold from 84m.

Bombora drillhole and intercept details. Source: Company announcement

The remaining drillholes intersected wide zones of anomalous gold typical of the Rebecca project prospects.

“The intercept in RCLR161 supports the company’s opinion that the zones of gold anomalism present within the strongly metamorphosed rocks at Rebecca are prospective for high-grade mineralised shoots,” Apollo Consolidated said in its ASX announcement.

“Whilst the drilling is too broad-spaced to allow geological interpretation the results so far demand additional drilling to define lode continuity and orientation, and are an excellent start to the Apollo’s exploration at the prospect.

“Results from the remaining holes are expected during the coming week, and planning for follow-up drilling around the RCLR161 intercept is underway.”