Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it’s off to work we go
THE DRILL SERGEANT: Each week any number of junior exploration plays set out to drill their ground. Here’s a small selection of what’s been happening this week.
Drill testing commences at Ongombo deposit
Namibian Copper (ASX: NCO) has commenced a drilling program at the company’s Ongombo copper-silver project in central Namibia.
The drilling program is planned to test near-surface mineralisation in the Central Shoot of the Ongombo deposit.
The drilling is expected to take eight weeks to complete and assay results will be available approximately four weeks after completion.
This first drilling program by NCO on the Central Shoot at Ongombo will collect information to both support ongoing feasibility studies for mining development and to test for extensions of the mineral resource, particularly the down-plunge extension of higher-grade zones within the shoot.
Results of the work will be used to refine the company’s development strategy for the Ongombo deposit.
Drilling to begin at Bennet Well
Cauldron Energy (ASX: CXU) is set to kick off a 10,000 metre drilling program at the company’s wholly-owned Bennet Well uranium deposit in Western Australia.
The $1.5 million mud-rotary drill program has been cleared to proceed.
This work will test the potential for uranium mineralisation and extension to the resource that may be minable by in-situ leach methods.
The current program involves drilling approximately 100 drill holes (10,000 drill metres).
Last month, Cauldron announced an 18 per cent resource upgrade at Bennet Well based on eight diamond drill holes.
The company expects results from this drilling program to provide a better understanding of the extractive mineralogy and better define and extend the high-grade zone of the mineralisation.
The next step in the Bennet Well project development, following the successful completion of this drill program, will be the testing of the extraction of uranium via an in-situ leach test currently planned for June 2015 Quarter.
Diamond drilling at PM prospect
Venus Metals (ASX: VMC) has commenced diamond drilling at the PM prospect, within the company’s Copper Hills project.
The PM prospect contains structurally controlled copper-zinc mineralisation and is located in a 1.5 kilometre long curvilinear shear zone in carbonate-graphite-chlorite schist within amphibolite.
The presence of a strong EM conductor at depth (as modelled by the company’s geophysical consultants) suggests this shear zone mineralisation may overlie a much larger poly-metallic hydrothermal sulphide zone at depth.
Three diamond drill holes are planned to test the modelled EM conductors.