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.

Drilling Big Red in the Fraser Range

Rumble Resources (ASX: RTR) has scheduled the maiden drilling program for the company’s Big Red project in the Fraser Range.

Drilling contracts have been awarded to DDH1 with the drilling rigs to be mobilised for the 7 November 2014.

Drilling of four RC/Diamond holes, designed to test the EM conductor within the interpreted Voisey Bay feeder Structure, is expected to take two weeks to complete with assays to follow.

Following the completion of the program a down-hole EM survey will looked to be scheduled to provide a diagnostic test of the bedrock conductor.

As part of the exploration activities Rumble has been awarded $150,000 to co-fund exploration on the Big Red project through the WA Government’s Exploration Initiative Scheme (EIS).

Drilling commences at Little Butte, Arizona

Carnavale Resources (ASX: CAV) has commenced drilling on the Railway prospect, at the company’s Little Butte project in Arizona USA.

The initial focus is to test for shallow, open pittable, oxide gold resources hosted along a regional north-south shear zone, where previous drilling intersected high-grade gold in two sub-vertical primary structures and broad zones of remobilised supergene gold and copper in highly weathered sediments (siltstone and sandstones).

The drilling will focus on defining infill holes to confirm continuity of the higher grade gold mineralisation along each north south structure and also extensions along approximately 450 metres of strike.

Drilling at Commonwealth

Impact Minerals (ASX: IPT) is ready to proceed with a drill program to test a number of targets for high-grade nickel-copper-platinum group metal deposits at the Broken Hill Joint Venture Project in New South Wales following the receipt of all statutory approvals.

Impact recently earned 51 per cent in the rights to nickel-copper-PGE mineralisation from Golden Cross Resources (ASX: GCR) and has elected to earn an 80 per cent interest by spending a further $200,000.

This expenditure will be completed during the forthcoming drill program at the Red Hill prospect, for which Impact was recently awarded a grant of $125,000 under the N.S.W. State Government’s Co-operative Drilling Funding Program.

Access track and drill site preparation will commence with the aim of commencing drilling by mid-November.

An Induced Polarisation ground geophysical survey comprising three lines over the Red Hill intrusion also commenced.

The results of this survey will be used to refine the drill targets identified in soil geochemistry and rock chip data.

RC Drilling to commence at Plato South

Enterprise Metals (ASX: ENT) is to commence its Plato South reverse circulation (RC) drilling program in the Fraser Range following a delay due to heavy rain.

Over 90mm (+3.5 inches) of rain prevented the drill rig from reaching the prospect.

The drilling at Plato South is designed to test three ground electromagnetic (EM) targets identified from fixed loop EM (FLEM) surveys carried out over Plato South in August 2014.

Priority hole locations have been identified, but clearance and approval has been received for up to 15 holes if required.

Pending the completion, modeling and interpretation of other ongoing FLEM surveys over Plato East, Oceanus and Highway, scout RC drilling of these targets may also be undertaken while the rig is in the Fraser Range.

Drilling kicks off at Natougou

Orbis Gold (ASX: OBS) continues to taunt its takeover suitor SEMAFO with the commencement the next phase of resource delineation and exploration drilling at the company’s Natougou gold project in south‐east Burkina Faso.

Drilling completed to date by Orbis in the Natougou area has defined one of the highest grade open pit gold deposits in West Africa with a total Mineral Resource of 18million tones at 3.4g/t gold for 2 million ounces of contained gold.

Multiple targets will be drill tested across the broader project area, looking for potential for expansion of the current Mineral resource inventory (including step‐out drill targets) and targets that provide opportunities for new deposit discoveries.

The company’s objectives from this new drilling program are to:

Expand the current Natougou Mineral Resource inventory;

Discover new gold deposits within the greater Natougou area;

Delineate Indicated Mineral Resources and Measured Mineral Resources for subsequent definition of Ore Reserves; and

Apply the additional high-grade gold mineralisation to further optimisation, mine life extension and enhancement of the Natougou gold project.