THE DRILL SERGEANT: Helix Resources (ASX: HLX) scored two new copper anomalies after trialling an Induced Polarisation (IP) geophysical survey technique at the company’s Canbelego Joint Venture with Aeris Resources (ASX: AIS) near Cobar in New South Wales.

Helix Resources trialled the new IP geophysical survey technique at the Canbelego Main Lode Mineral Resource.

The company said the results from the survey had clearly identify the ‘known’ Canbelego copper deposit while highlighting two new chargeable IP anomalies that have never been drilled.

Helix conducted the IP survey over the Canbelego copper deposit as well as the Bijoux copper prospect.

At Canbelego the survey consisted of five 1.5km long survey lines over the Main Lode Mineral Resource and Western Lodes mineralisation.

Four lines were parallel across the mineralisation with the fifth line northeast of the Main Lode across two VTEM anomalies.

The Bijoux survey consisted of one 1.5km long line across recently discovered oxide and copper sulphide mineralisation in RC drillholes.

“While it is still early days, the application of IP geophysics is looking like a game-changer for Helix and our exploration of the Rochford Trend,” Helix Resources technical director Kylie Prendergast said in the company’s ASX announcement.

“Copper mineralisation occurs as ‘sulphide’ minerals in either disseminated, vein stockworks or sometimes massive-sulphide textures.

“The latter can be conductive and to date we have relied on measuring that massive, conductive feature utilising ‘electromagnetic’ or ‘EM’ survey techniques to identify potential deposits.

“However, at Bijoux we intersected copper sulphides at grades well above one per cent copper but occurring as veins and disseminations and hence unlikely to give an EM response.

“We will now move on to build a fuller picture of the Rochford Trend copper potential by expanding to a wide coverage ‘gradient array IP’ geophysical survey over known surface copper anomalies and where drillholes have intersected copper sulphide mineralisation, such as the Cabellero and Bijoux prospects.

“This is an exciting development; fast-tracking Helix on a discovery pathway while saving money and optimising our drill targeting.”

TO READ THE FULL ANNOUNCEMENT: CLICK HERE