Horseshoe Metals to restart diamond drilling at Horseshoe Lights

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Horseshoe Metals (ASX: HOR) is set to re-commence diamond drilling on the company’s 100 per cent-owned Horseshoe Lights copper-gold project, located in the Peak Hill Mineral Field of Western Australia.

The company outlined the aims of its 2013 drilling programs at Horseshoe Lights will be to test for high grade copper-gold zones, potentially located down dip of the Main Zone, of sufficient grade to potentially support underground mining; and to test exploration targets outside of the immediate pit area which have not been adequately tested by previous exploration efforts.

A minimum of two diamond drill holes are planned to test for high-grade copper-gold zones down dip of the Main Zone, and will be collared on the west side of the existing open pit.

Horseshoe Metals has previously announced the identification of a high-priority volcanogenic-hosted massive sulphide (VHMS) target located about 400 metres south east from the Main Zone of the existing Horseshoe Lights Mine and just to the west of the topographic feature known as Chert Hill.

 

Plan showing gravity anomaly and planned drill hole locations. Source: Company announcement

 

This Chert Hill target is one of several sites the company anticipates will be drilled this year within a target corridor extending 800 metres to the south east of the existing open pit.

The Chert Hill target will be tested initially with one diamond drill hole, with follow-up drill holes planned to further test this target area once the results of the initial diamond hole have been received.

“The company is pleased to be recommencing exploration at the Horseshoe Lights project and in particular to be drill testing these high priority exploration targets,” Horseshoe Metals said in its ASX announcement.

These diamond drill holes will be the first to be drilled under the Main Zone since mining operations were suspended in 1994.

Previous deep diamond drilling by Barrack Mines in 1988-1989 identified zones of copper mineralisation down dip of the Main Zone below the open pit including 13m (318-331m) at 3.5 per cent copper including 5m at 7.2 per cent copper.

This copper mineralisation remains open down dip and will be the target zone for testing in this diamond drilling program.