Kimberley Metals hits gold-copper
OUT AND ABOUT: The folk at precious and base metals-focused Kimberley Metals had a spring in their step as they roamed the Diggers & Dealers conference this morning.
The reason for the company’s buoyant mood was its announcement today of results from the third diamond drill hole of a drilling program currently underway between the Eastern Ore Zone and Southern Ore Zone at its Mineral Hill Mine in New South Wales.
Exploration work carried out by Kimberley Metals in 2009 resulted in the discovery of high grade gold mineralisation at the Pearse prospect where an initial Inferred resource estimate of 281,000 tonnes grading 7.3 grams per tonne gold and 83 grams per tonne located less than one kilometre from existing mining and processing facilities.
In its announcement to the ASX this morning Kimberley Metals said the latest results confirm Mineral Hill’s previous status as a precious metal producer.
Assay results received from one of the drill holes returned:
– 5.4 metres at 2.5% copper and 4.4 grams per tonne gold, including 1.3 metre at 4.9% copper and 12.5 grams per tonne gold.
“These results confirm the existence of the high grade copper-gold structure previous identified by historical drilling,” Kimberley Metals said.
“The mineralised structure has a strike length of more than 350 metres, extends for over 150 metres down dip, and has true widths ranging from 4 metres to 10 metres.
“This structure is parallel and adjacent to existing underground infrastructure and provides an opportunity to add additional tonnes to the Mineral Hill production profile.
Narrow mineralised veins parallel to the main interval exist in the hanging and footwall position, indicating a total mineralised envelope width of plus 200 metres.
“Significant alteration coincident with this zone indicates potential for a larger feeder system at depth.
“Mineralisation is open along strike and both up/down dip.”
The company said the gold-copper results it has received represent a similar style of mineralisation to the previously mined high grade gold-copper Eastern Ore Zone deposit directly along strike to the north and the Southern Ore Zone to the south.
“The occurrence of this style of mineralisation demonstrates the prospectivity of the EOZ/Parkers Hill/SOZ structural corridor,” the company said.
The drilling program currently being carried out by the company has been designed to provide detailed geological, geotechnical and metallurgical data on the deposit.
It is also intended to increase the company’s understanding of structural controls on mineralisation for a resource upgrade that is currently in progress and due for release in the September quarter.