THE DRILL SERGEANT: MOD Resources has identified a new zone of copper-silver mineralisation at its 100 per cent-owned Botswana copper project in north-western Botswana, Africa.

Drilling at the project has returned grades of up to 3.87 per cent copper and 106.0 grams per tonne silver.

The initial results from MOD’s maiden drilling program are from the Corner K prospect, which MOD considers to be a five kilometre extension of the Gaia open pit target identified by Discovery Metals on an adjoining lease on the Kalahari Copper Belt.

Highlights from the initial drilling results at Corner K include:

–    3 metres at 1.40per cent copper and 44.6 grams per tonne silver, including 1metre at 2.53per cent copper and 77.7 grams per tonne silver;

–    1m at 2.53per cent copper and 77.7g/t silver, including 1m at 3.13per cent copper and 106.0g/t silver;

–    4m at 1.89per cent copper and 52.42g/t silver, including 1m at 3.87per cent copper and 90.2g/t silver;

–    5m at 1.33per cent copper and 35.7g/t silver, including 1m at 2.91per cent copper and 82.6g/t silver; and

–    7m at 1.29per cent copper and 36.54g/t silver, including 2m at 2.22per cent copper and 65.2g/t silver and 1m at 0.82per cent copper and 24.6g/t silver.

The Botswana copper project covers more than 8,300 square kilometres on the emerging Kalahari Copper Belt.

It is located directly between the respective Boseto and Ghanzi copper-silver discoveries of ASX-listed Discovery Metals and Canadian-based Hana Mining.

The drilling results are the first the company has received since it commenced its maiden 12,000 metre diamond and Reverse Circulation program at the Corner K prospect in July.

MOD said it considers Corner K to be a potential target for a second stand-alone mine and processing plant within an area known as the “Mid Kalahari Zone”.

Corner K is situated on one of 14 leases held by MOD on the Kalahari Copper Belt.

MOD Resources chairman Miles Kennedy said the company was pleased to have discovered what it considers to be a significant copper and silver mineralisation with its first drilling program at the Botswana copper project.

“We identified this ground as having the potential to host large-scale copper-silver deposits similar to the neighbouring Boseto and Ghanzi discoveries and the results from our first drilling program certainly put us on the right path to achieving that,” Kennedy said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“These results also underline our belief that the Kalahari Copper Belt is an emerging copper-silver province with great potential in a country widely acknowledged as the best mining jurisdiction in Africa.”

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Augur Resources has received the results of the latest two diamond drill holes carried out at the Randu Kuning prospect, located on the company’s Wonogiri project in Central Java.

The first of the holes was drilled to test for further mineralisation to the north of the current known mineralisation at Randu Kuning.

It was drilled approximately 50 metres north of a previous hole, which had returned 182 metres at 0.75 grams per tonne gold and 0.17 per cent copper.

The latter hole intersected a zone of:

–    55m at 0.41 g/t gold and 0.16 per cent copper.

Augur said it considered this result to be of some significance as it indicates mineralisation does continue to the north of the previously identified mineralised zone and supports the potential for mineralisation at depth.

The second of the recent holes intersected, what Augur described to be, two significant zones of mineralisation.

The shallower of these zones returned:

–    136m at 0.48 g/t gold and 0.14 per cent copper from 73 metres, and included 4 metres at 2.35 g/t gold and 0.37 per cent copper.

A second deeper zone was also intersected returning:

–    106.5m at 0.64 g/t gold and 0.10 per cent copper from 278m, ending in mineralisation.

“The results continue to indicate that there is apparently continuation of the mineralisation between holes and at depth,” Augur Resources said in its ASX announcement.

“Mineralisation is associated with quartz stock working and as disseminated mineralisation within a mirco‐diorite.

“Interpretation of recent drilling data and ground magnetic data highlights the potential for further mineralisation to the west and at depth of the current drilling.”

Augur said the mineralised zone to the north remains open and the company is deliberating drilling some deeper holes to the south of the known mineralised zone as it considers there may be potential for mineralisation below the zone it has already tested.

The company presently has two drill rigs operating at the Randu Kuning project.

The current drilling is focused on the northern portion of the deposit testing an area approximately 200m north of the previous drilling.

“Deep drill hole targets are being finalised based on the most recent geological model,” Augur said.

“These holes will target both depth extents and zones interpreted to have potential for high-grade mineralisation.

“Preliminary metallurgical testing has commenced on the porphyry mineralisation at Randu Kuning.

 

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Westgold Resources has completed the latest round of evaluation drilling at its recently-discovered Jim’s Find prospect at the Cuddingwarra Goldfield located in the company’s Central Murchison gold project (CMGP) in Western Australia.

Westgold described Jim’s Find to be a virgin discovery that shapes to be a mineralised shear zone hosted in mafic rocks.

Pattern drilling carried out in the course of the recent program has, according to the company, confirmed a strike-length of 300 metres with the system remaining open to the south and at depth.

This current round of drilling has confirmed the shallow mineralization Westgold previously reported it had encountered in the first round of drilling at Jim’s Find.

The better results from the latest program include:

–    2 metres at 14.83 grams per tonne gold from 31 metres;

–    10m at 2.66g/t gold from 10m;

–    5m at 3.31g/t gold from 31m;

–    14m at 2.49g/t gold from 47m;

–    8m at 3.61g/t gold from 16m;

–    3m at 6.07g/t gold from 41m; and

–    13m at 3.62g/t gold from 65m.

“This is a solid result,” Westgold Resources managing director Scott Huffadine said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“We expect that Jim’s Find will shape up to be a modest size open pit and become one of a number of complimentary open-pit mining options for the Central Murchison gold project.

“Importantly, it confirms the potential to make further new discoveries of near surface and open-pittable gold mineralisation in the region.
 
“Our development plans remain on track, with the Central Murchison gold project continuing to form a key part of our platform to build a mid-tier gold producer from two mining centres in proven goldfields.”
Jim’s Find is located approximately 15 kilometres from the proposed site of the CMGP processing facility at Big Bell.

Haul road infrastructure is already in place from the previous mining of open pits at the City of Chester prospect where 92,000 tonnes at 3.14 grams per tonne gold was mined.

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Corazon Mining has struck additional nickel/copper sulphide mineralisation during its ongoing drilling of geophysical (EM) conductors at its EL Deposit located within the Lynn Lake nickel sulphide project in Canada.

A recently-completed wedge hole intersected approximately 26 metres of strong matrix to semi-massive sulphide style mineralisation from approximately 715 metres down hole, before grading into disseminated sulphide mineralisation – lower grade material.

The company said it received good visual evidence of nickel and copper mineralisation, supported by the results of a hand-held XRF tool.

The latest wedge hole drilled by the company has paralleled the first wedge hole announced by Corazon in June, which returned 23.75 metres at 3.34 per cent nickel, 1.54 per cent copper and 0.079 per cent cobalt.

Corazon said the combined results from the two holes assist it in defining the northern extents of the conductor target.

Although the exact location of the second wedge hole has yet to be accurately defined by survey, Corazon anticipates it to lie within 25 metres of the first, providing support for the company to plan an additional wedge hole.

This follow-up hole will target deeper within the mineralised system that has been defined by the EM conductors.

To date Corazon has drilled five holes into an EM conductor situated below the EL Mine.

These holes have tested only a small portion of the target; however they have all intersected high-grade nickel-copper mineralisation.

Assay for holes completed last month have now been returned with results including:

–    2.23m at 3.84 per cent nickel, 0.41 per cent copper and 0.092 per cent cobalt from 715.25m; and

–    42m at 3.99 per cent nickel, 0.36 per cent copper and 0.027 per cent cobalt from 724m.
Corazon has interpreted the first of these holes to have intersected the fault bounded on the upper eastern edge of the EM conductor target.

The other hole targeted an area slightly away from the edge of the EM anomaly and intersected the upper bounding fault at 724 metres and semi-massive to disseminated nickel and copper sulphides for the next 32.72 metres.

Corazon said another hole completed in the recent campaign went off target due to driller error and malfunctioning survey equipment.

The company said that it decided to see what eventuated so let the drilling continue expecting it may intersect an area previously untested by drilling.

This strategy paid off with the hole intersecting some 80 metres of strong Type 1 disseminated mineralisation from 820 metres to 906 metres.

“It is significant that the results of Corazon’s drilling have returned some of the highest recorded nickel grades in the Lynn Lake mining camp,” the company said in itsASX announcement.

“The predictability of the location of the mineralisation, coincident with the EM conductors, provides conclusive support that the EM anomalies recently defined represent semi-massive to massive sulphides, and hence high nickel and copper mineralisation.

“Drilling of the conductor is continuing, with the commencement today of a hole that will test the conductor deeper and further to the south.”

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Northern Star Resources has achieved some impressive resource extension drilling results yet at the Voyager 1 lode at its Paulsens gold mine in Western Australia.

The company is confident the latest results could set up further increases in resources, production and mine life.

The intersections include:

–    18.8 metres at 62.7 grams per tonne gold, including 7.0 metres at 140.7 grams per tonne gold (with 0.85 metres at 773 grams per tonne gold);

–    13.3m at 12.2 g/t gold; and

–    6.4m at 120.2 g/t, including 2m at 345.4 g/t gold.

Northern Star said it will use the latest results to form part of its next resource upgrade, which in turn will underpin a revised mine plan for Paulsens, including increased mine life, production and cashflow.

The new mine plan will become an important aspect of Northern Star’s strategy to increase its total production to 200,000 ounces per annum from the current rate of 80,000 ounces per annum.

Northern Star said it considers these latest results from the Voyager 1 lode to be quite significant as they confirm the extension to the main ore zone, commonly referred to as the Upper Zone, it announced in September.

The company highlighted the first intersection, which returned multiple numbers of assays greater than 100 g/t gold, with a maximum intercept of 773 g/t gold.

It also pointed to the third intersection saying it adds further support for a substantial down plunge extension to the Voyager 1 lode due to it being the deepest mineralisation intersected in Voyager 1 to date.

Voyager 1 lode is the main ore source at Paulsens and has produced 100,000 ounces of gold over the past 15 months.

It continues to be open down plunge and dip and is emerging as the company’s major source of production for at least the next two years.

When combined with the potential of the Voyager 2 mineralisation, Northern Star is confident Paulsens stands to have a projected life of at least another five years.

“These significant high-grade results will make a substantial contribution to an upgraded mine plan for Paulsens, including increased resources, production and cashflow,” Northern Star Resources managing director Bill Beament said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“Combine these extensions to Voyager 1 with the successful delineation of Voyager 2 and it is abundantly clear that the financial prospects for Northern Star are exceptionally bright.”