Navarre encounters mixed bag at Eclipse porphyry prospect

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Navarre Minerals (ASX: NML) has achieved encouraging copper and gold results from a recent shallow drilling program at the company’s 100 per cent-owned Eclipse copper-gold prospect.

The prospect is located 300 kilometres northwest of Melbourne in the Miga Arc copper belt.

The shallow drilling returned shallow copper and gold up to 2.8 per cent copper and up to 3.3 grams per tonne gold while indicating secondary (chalcocite) copper approximately 30m from surface.

Copper grades better than 1 per cent copper were recorded in six of seven holes received to date, with RC drill results including:
 
RCBR0001:
5 metres at 1.8 per cent copper, including 1m at 2.8 per cent copper within 23m at 0.7 per cent copper from 30m.

RCBR0002:
1m at 1.4 per cent copper and 1m at 1.3 per cent copper within 29m at 0.5 per cent copper from 29m.

RCBR0003:
1m at 1.6 per cent copper within 9m at 0.4 per cent copper and 0.8 grams per tonne gold, from 28m;

45m at 0.4g/t gold from surface, including 1m at 3.3g/t gold;

10m at 1 per cent zinc from 32m;

16m at 1.5 per cent lead from 25m; and

24m at 8.6g/t silver from 24m.

RCBR0004:
2m at 1.2 per cent copper within 15m at 0.3 per cent copper from 37m.

RCBR0006:
2m at 2.7 per cent copper within 32m at 0.5 per cent copper and 0.5g/t gold from 28m; and

66m at 0.4g/t gold from surface to end of hole, including 1m at 1.2g/t gold and 1m at 1g/t gold.

RCBR0007:
1m at 1.3 per cent copper within 11m at 0.3 per cent copper from 32m;

18m at 0.4g/t gold from 27m, including 1m at 2.9g/t gold; and

16m at 4.9g/t silver from 26m, including 1m at 32.2g/t silver.

“These are very pleasing results,” Navarre Minerals managing director Geoff McDermott said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“The high-grade secondary copper close to surface over an extensive area is strong evidence for primary porphyry copper mineralisation at depth.

“Broad intercepts of gold with base metal and silver are indicative of an epithermal target, which is commonly found in association with porphyry deposits.

“The tenor of grade intersected in our drilling, the widespread metal endowment and alteration patterns support our belief that we are dealing with a very large hydrothermal mineralising system at Eclipse.”

The results come from the first 7 holes of an 11 hole, RC drill program aimed at confirming a blanket of secondary copper (chalcocite) mineralisation, which Navarre said occurs above widespread copper, gold and zinc mineralisation, which it considers to be associated with a deeper porphyry target.

 

Eclipse prospect resistivity 3D inversion model showing a
porphyry-copper target, two high chargeability IP targets and location
of recent drilling. Source: Company announcement

 

Assay results from the final batch of RC samples are expected later in March.

A number of other sample intervals from within the surface depleted zone have also been dispatched for gold assay, prompted by the wide distribution of high gold grades received in the initial results.

Email: info@navarre.com.au

Website: www.navarre.com.au