The Conversation (0)
Basin Energy Limited (ASX:BSN) (‘Basin’, or ‘the Company’) is pleased to provide the quarterly report for the period ending 31 March 2023 (“Quarter”, “Reporting Period”) to accompany the Appendix 5B.
Key Highlights
- Successful completion of Airborne Electromagnetic survey at the Geikie Uranium Project
- Significant conductor demonstrating splays and offsets identified
- Historical Geikie data review provides confidence in the geological setting for the suitability of high-grade uranium mineralisation
- Work completed by Basin to date has identified multiple shallow targets ready for drill testing at Geikie
- Continued engagement and consultation with First Nations and stakeholder groups
- Strong cash balance of $7.3M ensures Basin is fully funded for an aggressive 2023 exploration campaign, including maiden diamond drilling programs
Exploration for the Quarter was focused on progressing the Geikie Uranium Project (‘Geikie’, or the ‘Project’) toward maiden drill testing. Basin has been advancing drill targets deemed prospective for high grade uranium mineralisation, using analogies and models derived from neighboring uranium deposits and discoveries in the Athabasca basin. Additionally, as part of the of the Company’s broader exploration campaign within the Athabasca Basin, a continued focus has been placed on the engagement and consultation with rights holders and broader stakeholders within the exploration project areas.
Airborne Electromagnetic Survey at Geikie1,2,3,4
Basin commissioned the airborne electromagnetic (‘AEM’) survey in Q4 2022. A helicopter-borne Versatile Time-Domain Electromagnetic (‘VTEM’) survey method was selected as most appropriate to achieve the survey objectives.
Geotech Ltd were engaged to conduct the survey, which covered the entire project area, at a combination of 400 m line spacing in the northern part of the property and 200 m line spacing in the south. A total of 1,399-line kilometres of data was acquired. Final survey specifications are outlined in ASX release dated 22 March 2023.
Upon receipt of preliminary data, a series of anomalies were categorised into primary and secondary targets, with the next steps for primary targets being the modelling of final AEM data followed by drill testing. The secondary anomalies are potentially significant considering the correlation with regional faults, however further assessment will be conducted as modelling of final data is completed.
Figures 1 and 2: Locations of AEM primary and secondary targets over (left) Channel 10 VTEM data and (right) 2022 magnetic data. Note: potential AEM target zones are based on preliminary data. Final levelled data is yet to be received.
A strong coherent northeast trending conductor, classified as a primary target, striking through the southern half of the Project is clearly defined. A series of splays and offsets of this conductor are visible, often in correlation with intersections of regionally significant deep-seated north-south trending faults, part of the Tabbernor Fault System (‘Tabbernor’, or ‘TFS’).
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Basin Energy, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
BSN:AU
Basin Energy Investor Kit
- Corporate info
- Insights
- Growth strategies
- Upcoming projects
GET YOUR FREE INVESTOR KIT
Basin Energy
Overview
Basin Energy (ASX:BSN) completed an IPO in October 2022 and is well-positioned as a uranium exploration and development company to take full advantage of the current political and economic environment for the global supply of uranium. The company operates three projects in the world-class Athabasca Basin in Saskatchewan, Canada, known as the world’s leading source of high-grade uranium, currently accounting for approximately 10 percent of global uranium production. The company’s projects are in close proximity to high-grade uranium discoveries and mining operations within the Athabasca Basin.
Interest in uranium has skyrocketed in recent months, driven by the need for lower emissions and stable power generation. Nuclear reactors provide significant power for 32 countries globally, including the US, Canada, China, France, Hungary, Japan and Finland.
Demand has become a key driver of uranium prices, with Sprott Asset Management further enhancing demand by launching two investment vehicles that have already found rapid success: Physical Uranium Trust (TSX:UUN) and Uranium Miners ETF (ARCA:URNM). Combined, existing demand and investment interest create a compelling opportunity for uranium miners and their investors.
In an interview with INN, founding director Peter Bird said, "It's hard to look past the Athabasca Basin as the premium mining jurisdictions for large, high-grade uranium deposits. The region also ranks highly as one of the most stable mining jurisdictions worldwide, which is an increasingly important factor given the current scrutiny on the source of uranium.”
Basin Energy has expanded its portfolio of potential world-class discoveries with the acquisition of projects in Sweden and Finland prospective for multiple commodities including uranium, copper, gold, silver, niobium and rare earth elements. The Scandinavian assets include the Virka project, along with its highly prospective satellite prospects Björkberget and Rävaberget. Exploration activities within the project include drilling across all licenses targeted uranium mineralisation, with diamond drillholes gamma probed and limited geochemical core sampling being completed.
Company Highlights
- Basin Energy is a uranium exploration and development company with three highly prospective projects in the world-renowned Athabasca Basin in Canada, known for being a consistent top three global uranium producer.
- Basin Energy’s board, management team and joint venture partner have direct extensive experience in uranium exploration and development along with comprehensive expertise in corporate financing, investment banking and geology. The company’s highly prospective uranium exploration portfolio comprises:
- The Geikie Project - located on the eastern margin of the Athabasca Basin occupying an extensive land position of 351 square kilometers, showing multiple uranium and uranium pathfinder occurrences, and is prospective for shallow, high-grade mineralization with maiden drilling identifying uranium up to 0.27 percent;
- The North Millennium Project - an interpreted extension of the Mother Fault that hosts Cameco’s Millennium Deposit (104.8 Mlb U3O8 3.76 percent), located just 7 kilometers to the south; and
- The Marshall Project - located only 7 kilometers west of Cameco’s Millennium deposit centered on a strong magnetic and conductive anomaly interpreted as a significant unconformity-type uranium target.
- Basin Energy is committed to sustainable development throughout its operations, aiming to minimize environmental impact from all stages of the exploration and development cycle.
Key Projects
Basin has interest in and is actively exploring three highly prospective properties positioned in the southeast corner and margins of the Athabasca Basin, an area well known for its uranium endowment and pedigree. These are the Geikie (60 percent, North Millenium (40 percent) and Marshall (100 percent) projects.
The project portfolio provides exposure to traditional “unconformity style” exploration, targeting the same mineralisation model as Cameco’s (TSE:CCO) prolific McArthur River mine which hosts 674.9Mlb uranium at 16.9 percent at its North Millenium and Marshall projects, as well as exposure to potentially shallower “basement style” exploration targeting deposits similar to NexGen Energy’s (TSE:NXE) Arrow deposit which hosts 30.61Mlb uranium at 4.6 percent.
Geikie Project
The Geikie Project covers a significant area of 351 square kilometers on the eastern fringe of the Athabasca Basin and is easily accessible from Highway 905, which is located just 10 kilometers to the east. This portion of the Athabasca Basin is deemed perspective for shallow “basement style” mineralisation, but has traditionally been overlooked from much of the previous campaigns of uranium exploration. The discovery of multiple basement-hosted uranium ore bodies in recent years elsewhere in the district has driven a focus on the area.
The project was initially prioritized following a targeting review utilizing historical geophysics. Historical geochemistry confirmed the presence of uranium and suitable host lithologies. Recent nearby high-grade, shallow uranium discoveries by 92 Energy (ASX:92E) and Baselode Energy (TSXV:FIND), further enhance the overall prospectivity of the asset.
Project Highlights:
- Exploration underway: Basin Energy has completed mapping, geochemical sampling, airborne geophysics and maiden drilling. Further drilling is planned for 2024-.
- Shallow targets amenable to rapid exploration: Target horizon sits directly beneath glacial cover, in what was historically an overlooked part of the district.
- Nearby high-grade discoveries: The proximity of recent discoveries creates further confidence in the prospectivity of the project geology, being located adjacent to two recent discoveries:
- 92 Energy’s Gemini discovery 43 meters at 0.6 percent eU3O8 including 6 meters at 2.2 percent U308.
- Baseload Energy’s AKIO discovery was 13.2 meters at 0.55 percent U3O8 including 6.3 meters @ 0.99 percent U3O8.
- Presence of uranium: The maiden drilling program intersected anomalous uranium in four of the eight holes drilled, with assays returning up to 0.27 percent U3O8.
- Extensive scale: Geophysical data, combined with drilling data demonstrates significant scale opportunity with over 30 metres of intense alteration and brecciation intersected in drilling, that can be correlated to regional structural features identified in magnetics. This provides immediate follow up targets.
Since its IPO, the company has completed an extensive campaign of high resolution modern airborne geophysics including magnetics, radiometrics, electromagnetics and gravity gradiometry, as well as initial ground prospecting. These surveys have confirmed the pre-IPO geological interpretation and successfully identified a series of uranium targets.
Basin Energy completed its maiden 2,217-meter drilling program at Geikie in the summer of 2023, the first drilling to occur within the Project area in over 50 years. Drilling successfully identified uranium mineralisation with assays up to 0.27 percent U3O8. Uranium mineralisation is located proximal to two regionally significant structures at Aero Lake and Preston Creek with associated extensive hydrothermal alteration indicative of large uranium mineralising systems. Furthermore, an extensive geochemical pathfinder halo has been identified at Preston Creek, characteristic of uranium mineralising systems seen elsewhere in the district.
The company further expanded the Geikie Project with two additional claims consisting of 11.87 square kilometers, bringing the total Geikie project area to 350.87 square kilometers. The newly staked claims are adjacent to the Preston Creek and Hourglass Lake prospects, where Basin’s maiden exploration drilling is underway.
The company currently owns 60 percent of the Geikie Uranium Project following the fulfillment of expenditure requirements to meet the option payment. Basin has elected to proceed with the option agreement to increase its ownership to up to 80 percent through earn-in stages.
North Millennium Project
North Millennium is located just 7 kilometers north of Cameco’s (NYSE:CCJ) Millennium Deposit, which contains 104.8 million pounds (Mlb) U3O8 at 3.76 percent, and 40 kilometers southwest of their flagship McArthur River Mine hosting 674.9 Mlbs U3O8 at 16.9 percent. Within the property, Basin Energy has identified two high-priority targets along a 5-kilometer corridor for initial priority exploration. The initial target is where an interpreted extension of the Millennium Mother Fault intersects a strong basement conductor.
Project Highlights:
- Favorable geology: The interpreted structural and stratigraphic geology has strong similarities with some of the major uranium deposits within the Athabasca, such as a basement conductor trend disrupted by an interpreted extension of the Millennium Deposit Mother Fault.
- Proximity to known mineralization and recent discoveries:
- Located 7 kilometers north of Cameco’s Millennium deposit
- Drilling to the south of the project, proximal to the Millennium Deposit Mother Fault intersected uranium and uranium pathfinder elements.
- A drill hole on a nearby property completed by joint venture partner CanAlaska (TSXV:CVV) identified high-grade mineralization of 9 meters at 2.4 percent U3O8, further enhancing confidence in the project.
- Thoroughly defined exploration strategy: The company is currently compiling historical data, including completing a 3D inversion of results from an existing historic airborne ZTEM campaign. Exploration work will subsequently consist of:
- Targeted ground geophysics
- Stepwise moving loop time domain electromagnetics
- Potentially DCIP resistivity
- Exploration diamond drilling
- Targeted ground geophysics
Marshall Project
Located in the southeast corner of the Athabasca Basin, the Marshall Project has received limited historic exploration between 1979 and 2009, which included surface geochemistry, electromagnetic surveys and ground geophysics.
The Marshall Project contains a strong magnetic and conductive structure indicative of an unconformity-type uranium target, the asset’s primary target. Recently completed modern 3D inversion and processing works of historical geophysical data identified multiple geophysical anomalies above and below the Athabasca unconformity within the sandstone and basement stratigraphy at the Marshall Project.
Project Highlights:
- Significant geophysical anomalies: Interpretation of historical geophysical data suggests a metasedimentary basin with a graphitic basal unit, cross-cut by a magnetic and conductive NE/SW structure – indicative of a geological setting suitable for high-grade uranium mineralization.
- Proximity to known mineralization and recent discoveries:
- Located 10 kilometers west of Cameco’s Millennium deposit
- A drill hole along strike at the McArthur West project, completed by joint venture partner CanAlaska (TSXV:CVV) identified high-grade mineralization of 9 meters at 2.4 percent U3O8, further enhancing confidence in the project.
- Thoroughly defined exploration strategy: The company is currently compiling historical data, including completing a 3D inversion of results from an existing historic airborne ZTEM campaign.
- Exploration work will subsequently consist of:
- Targeted ground geophysics
- Stepwise moving loop time domain electromagnetics
- Potentially DCIP resistivity
- Exploration diamond drilling as merited
Management Team
Blake Steele - Non-executive Chairman
Blake Steele is an experienced metals and mining industry executive and director with extensive knowledge across public companies and capital markets. He was formerly president and chief executive officer of Azarga Uranium (Azarga), a US-focused integrated uranium exploration and development company. He led Azarga into an advanced stage multi- asset business, which was ultimately acquired by enCore Energy (TSX.V:EU) for C$200 million in February 2022.
Pete Moorhouse - Managing Director
Pete Moorhouse has 18 years of mining and exploration geology experience with extensive experience in the junior uranium sector, having spent over 10 years with ASX-listed uranium explorer and developer Alligator Energy (ASX:AGE). He holds significant competencies in evaluating, exploring, resource drilling and feasibility studies across many global uranium and resource projects.
Jeremy Clark - Non-executive Director
Jeremy Clark has over 19 years of mining and exploration geology experience. He previously held technical and management roles at the recognized consultancy firm RPM Global for over 13 years, gaining experience across a number of uranium, base metals, and precious metals deposits globally. Subsequent to RPM, Clark established his own boutique geological consultancy firm, Lily Valley, focused in regards to compliance-related issues, IPOs and M&A.
Cory Belyk - Non-executive Director
Cory Belyk holds 30 years’ experience in exploration and mining operations, project evaluation, business development and extensive global uranium experience most recently employed by Cameco in the Athabasca Basin. He was a member of the exploration management team that discovered Fox Lake & West McArthur uranium deposits. Currently CEO/VP of Canadian Athabasca uranium explorer and project generator, CanAlaska (TSXV:CVV).
Peter Bird - Non-executive Director
Peter Bird is an investment banking professional with experience leading and managing a variety of global transactions including IPOs, Capital Raises and M&A Currently working with New York based investment fund, where he provides strategic funding solutions to a variety of international clients. He previously held the role of associate director at a Perth-based boutique corporate advisory firm focused on natural resources.
Ben Donovan - NED/ Company Secretary
Ben Donovan has over 22 years of experience in the provision of corporate advisory and company secretary services. He holds extensive experience in ASX listing rules compliance and corporate governance and has served as a Senior Adviser to the ASX for nearly 3 years Currently CoSec to several ASX listed resource companies including M3 Mining (ASX:M3M), Magnetic Resources (ASX:MAU) and Legacy Iron Ore (ASX:LCY).
Odile Maufrais - Exploration Manager
Odile Maufrais is an exploration geologist with over 14 years of experience and has an extensive understanding of the uranium exploration and mining industry, having worked at ORANO, one of the largest global uranium producers for 12 years on various assignments in Canada, Niger, and France. Maufrais has significant Athabasca Basin-specific experience, being involved on over 15 greenfield and brownfield uranium exploration projects located throughout the Basin. Her most recent roles for ORANO comprised leading various uranium exploration campaigns and being an active member of the ORANO research and development team, which involved working on trialing and implementing cost-effective and streamlined drilling techniques within the Athabasca Basin. She also played a key role in the update of the National Instrument 43-101 compliant mineral resource estimate for the Midwest Main and Midwest A deposits. Maufrais holds a Master of Science from Montpellier II University, France.
Octava to Commence Drilling at Yallalong High-Grade Antimony Project
Highlights
- Drill rig relocating to site with drilling to commence this weekend.
- The 3000m reverse circulation (RC) drill program is targeting further high-grade antimony at the Discovery prospect.
- Historic drilling at Discovery recorded high-grade antimony intercepts over a strike length of ~300m and remains open. Results include:
- YRC16: 7m @ 3.27% Sb from 12m including 1m @ 11.5% from 18m
- YRC06: 3m @ 6.83% Sb from 21m including 1m @ 13.6% Sb from 22m
- After drilling at Discovery, the drill rig will relocate to the Central antimony target, 2km north along strike. There has been no previous drilling at Central.
- A detailed geophysical survey over the antimony corridor at Yallalong is now complete, with the data being processed. This is expected to generate further targets within the antimony corridor.
Octava’s Managing Director Bevan Wakelam stated, "It’s great to have the rig heading to site and earlier than we had planned. The drilling will start on Discovery, then move to the Central target and should take about 2 weeks to complete. High-grade antimony has already been intersected at Discovery over a significant strike length and this drilling will further test the size. We will also twin some of the previously drilled holes."
Figure 1. Planned drill hole locations at the Discovery antimony target - Yallalong Antimony Project.
The antimony (Sb) mineralisation identified at Yallalong appears within a 10km north-south striking mineralised corridor that is interpreted to be related to a structural belt between the regional scale Darling and Woodrarung faults. Previous exploration identified four principal antimony targets where antimony mineralisation was exposed at surface. Only the Discovery Prospect has any drilling and remains open. Antimony ingot prices at that time were ~$8000/tonne compared to over $30,000/tonne now1.
Figure 2. Antimony targets at Yallalong antimony project with underlying geology.
Drilling at Discovery target recorded some of the highest-grade antimony drill intersections in Australia, at shallow depth, over a strike of ~300m including:
- YRC16: 7m @ 3.27% Sb from 12m including 1m @ 11.5% from 18m
- YRC06: 3m @ 6.83% Sb from 21m including 1m @ 13.6% Sb from 22m
- YRC27: 6m @ 1.35% Sb from 13m
After drilling at the Discovery target is complete, the rig will then move to the Central target, which is located 2 kilometres north along strike. There has been no previous drilling at the Central target.
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Octava Minerals Limited, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
Targeted Exploration Focus Delivers an Additional 471koz or 99% Increase in Ounces, and a Higher Grade for Ricciardo
HIGHLIGHTS:
- Updated Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) for the Ricciardo Deposit (part of the broader Golden Range Project) of 16.44 Mt @ 1.8 g/t Au for 947.5 koz gold.
- Represents a 99% increase in Ricciardo MRE contained gold ounces.
- Proven high-returning exploration with the increased Ricciardo MRE ounces delivered at an attractive all-in discovery cost of only approx. A$16/oz.
- High-quality resource additions given drilling focus on high-grade growth ounces with strong commercial potential.
- The updated Ricciardo MRE comprises:
- 467.5 koz @ 1.6 g/t Au open-pit gold Resource (75% M&I) (optimised pit shell constrained at A$3,300/oz)
- 480.0 koz @ 2.0 g/t Au underground gold Resource
- Critically, the Ricciardo system remains wide open at depth and along strike.
- Total Golden Range Project Mineral Resources now stand at over 1.28 Moz gold, a 58% increase from the previous level.
- This initial outcome validates the excellent potential for further growth within the broader 25km ‘Golden Corridor’ via the ongoing, simple strategy of targeting fresh rock extensions under shallow existing pits.
- RC drilling at the southern end of the ‘Golden Corridor’ targeting high-grade Resource growth is progressing well; 9 holes completed for 1,472 metres to date, assays pending.
Warriedar Managing Director and CEO, Amanda Buckingham, commented:
“This is the result we have been working towards all year. With less than 15,000m of targeted, efficient drilling we have added over 470 koz to the Ricciardo deposit, doubling the Resource.
We are excited by both the outcome itself, and the outlook that it delivers us for the wider corridor of gold deposits. The simple strategy of drilling below shallow open pits to find mineable ounces worked exceptionally well for our producing neighbours. The validity of this strategy is now beyond doubt, for us.
Not only is the Ricciardo system still wide open down-plunge, but the entire 25km long ‘Golden Corridor’ offers similar potential upside from such a relatively simple drilling focus.
In the middle of the infrastructure-rich southern Murchison, and located on existing Mining Leases, the opportunity in front of us is utterly irresistible.”
The Ricciardo Deposit
The Ricciardo Gold Deposit is located on existing mining leases 100% owned by WA8, in the Murchison Region, approximately 300 km east of Geraldton, and 420 km by road north-northeast of Perth. Sitting approximately 8km South of the Golden Range Mill on M59/421, and M59/458, within the Golden Range group of historic open pit mines and deposits.
Discovered in the 1990’s, open pit mining of the oxide resources commenced in 2001, and the plant entered Care & Maintenance twice (between July 2004 and 2009, and May 2010 to mid- 2013). Production was over 300 Koz before finally going into ongoing Care and Maintenance in August 2019.
The Ricciardo deposit is located 90km north of Capricorn Metals’ Mt Gibson Gold Project, 8kms south of the Company’s plant, 26km from the neighbouring Golden Grove processing facility and 40 km northeast of Vault Minerals’ high grade Rothsay gold mine (Figure 1).
Figure 1: The location of the Ricciardo gold deposit within the Golden Range Project; within the broader Southern Murchison region.
The Ricciardo gold system spans a strike length of approximately 2.3km, with very limited drilling having been undertaken below 100m depth prior to Warriedar drilling. Historical mining operations at Ricciardo were primarily focused on oxide material, with the transition and primary sulphides mineralisation not systematically explored.
Warriedar’s drilling of Ricciardo during CY2024 achieved excellent results, demonstrating high- grade extensions to the resource. The results demonstrated that the previously quantified resource is part of a much larger system.
Warriedar engaged independent mining consultants, Measured Group to update the Ricciardo MRE, previously reported 476Koz gold.1
The Ricciardo Gold Deposit consists of six semi-continuous historical open pit mines along the 2.3 km arcuate stretch of the Mougooderra Shear Zone, running north to south. These mines are named (from north to south) Silverstone North, Ardmore, Copse, Silverstone, Silverstone South, and Eastern Creek (Figure 2).
Figure 2: Drilling carried out by the Company during 2023 & 2024, which was used to update the MRE.
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Warriedar Resources Limited, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
Drilling Preparations at Abercromby Gold Project
BMG Resources Limited (ASX: BMG) (BMG or the Company) is pleased to announce that preparations to resume drilling at its 100%-owned Abercromby Gold Project are well advanced with the start of drilling scheduled for this month.
- Diamond drill programme focused on resource growth is scheduled to commence this month at the Abercromby Gold Project
- Extensional drilling of high-grade zones is planned with potential to add significantly to BMG's maiden resource of 518,000 oz Au at 1.45 g/t Au
- Infill drilling planned to convert inferred resources to the indicated category to support development studies
- Programme of Work approval in place
- Programme of Work approval in place
John Prineas, BMG's Non-Executive Chairman, said:
"Following the support shown by investors in the recent capital raising, the team at BMG have moved quickly to finalise arrangements to resume drilling at the Abercromby Gold Project.
"The drill programme will focus on expanding high-grade gold zones beyond the existing resource shell, as well as increasing resource confidence by upgrading inferred resources to indicated status.
"The results of the drilling have potential to contribute significantly to resource growth at Abercromby, and to ..iaterially boost the potential project economics."
Drilling for growth in gold resources:
BMG delivered the large maiden Mineral Resource at Abercromby after completion of only three drill campaigns and at a discovery cost of just $8.35 per ounce. This achievement highlights the extensive gold endowment at Abercromby, as well as the efficient exploration planning by our technical team.
This excellent track record of results at Abercromby provides confidence in the potential for continued drilling success at Abercromby that could increase the size of the gold resource.
The Abercromby Gold Project is owned 100% by BMG and comprised within two granted Mining Leases. The Project is located in an established mining region with access to infrastructure (roads, power) and proximal to a number pf producing gold mines.
The favourable metallurgical properties of the Abercromby ore were confirmed by metallurgical testwork completed by Extreme Metallurgy and reviewed by GR Engineering Services. That testwork concluded that the Abercromby gold mineralisation was free milling in nature and amenable to traditional carbon-in-leach processing. High gold recoveries were achieved in the range 93% to 95%.
Maiden Resource is just the beginning:
The maiden MRE for Abercromby is comprised in the Capital Deposit and is defined as 11.12Mt @ 1.45 g/t Au for 518,000 oz Au. This resource is a subset of a global resource estimate containing about 670,000 oz Au at a Og/t Au lower cut-off.
The Capital Deposit remains open at depth and along strike — both to the north and south. A diamond drilling program is planned to commence this month to test for extensions of the mineralisation as well as to convert inferred resources to the indicated category.
The prospective stratigraphy at Abercromby extends for more than 6km with only a strike of 1.2km systematically drilled to date. This provides potential for substantial discovery opportunities with further exploration drilling.
Drilling is also planned for early next year to test regional targets to the south of the Capital Deposit.
Reconnaissance aircore drilling at the Capital South, Archer and Barrack Prospects — located along a 1km corridor of prospective stratigraphy to the south of the Capital Deposit — has confirmed the presence of a large high-grade gold system and supports the potential for a repetition of significant mineralisation like the Capital Deposit.
Table 1: JORC-compliant Mineral Resource for Abercromby.
A further announcement will be issued by BMG once drilling commences at Abercromby.
For further information on the Abercromby resource, see our ASX announcement dated 6 February 2023 'High Gold Recoveries — Abercromby Met Testwork' and 17 April 2023 '518,000oz Au Maiden Mineral Resource for Abercromby Gold Project'.
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from BMG Resources Limited (ASX: BMG), licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
Octava Secures Drilling Contractor for the High-Grade Antimony Project at Yallalong
Highlights
- Octava has now completed the selection process for a drilling contractor to conduct exploration at its 100% owned high-grade Yallalong antimony project in the Midwest of Western Australia.
- A 3000m drilling program is expected to commence by the end of this month and will focus on the Discovery target, where previous high-grade intercepts have been recorded including:
- YRC16: 7m @ 3.27% Sb from 12m including 1m @ 11.5% from 18m
- YRC06: 3m @ 6.83% Sb from 21m including 1m @ 13.6% Sb from 22m
- Maiden drill holes will also be completed on the Central antimony target, where no previous drilling has been done.
- Detailed geophysical survey over the identified antimony corridor at Yallalong is progressing well, now 40% complete.
- The geophysical survey will assist in defining additional antimony targets within the corridor, that may be transported cover.
Octava’s Managing Director Bevan Wakelam stated, "We are really pleased to have secured our drillers to undertake the exploration drill program to outline further high-grade antimony at Yallalong. We will target lateral extensions of existing, known high grade antimony mineralisation and also the underlying bedrock contacts. We also look forward to completing the geophysical survey that will provide us with better geological understanding of what’s below the surface along the antimony corridor.”
Figure 1. Cross-section through the Discovery antimony target showing mineralisation occurring parallel to the sedimentary and mafic rock contact and in the fault zone. (refer ASX announcement 17 September 2024)The antimony (Sb) mineralisation identified at Yallalong appears to occur within a 10km north-south striking mineralised corridor that is interpreted to be related to a structural corridor between the Darling and Woodrarung faults. The fault zones act as conduits for mineralising fluids into the sedimentary rocks that are peripheral to mafic intrusive dykes, a well-known geological setting for antimony deposits worldwide.
Octava is planning to drill two of the priority antimony targets at the Yallalong antimony Project, Discovery and Central. Previous exploration identified four principal antimony targets where antimony mineralisation was exposed at surface at all target locations. Only the Discovery Prospect has any drilling and remains open. Antimony ingot prices at that time were ~$8000/tonne compared to over $30,000/tonne now1. Drilling is expected to commence at the end of this month.
The detailed geophysical surveys are progressing well, now at 40% and on track to be completed in the next 7-10 days. The survey will provide clearer understanding on these key structures, such as shears & faults and provide better definition of controlling lithological boundaries.
Figure 2. Progress map of Detailed Geophysical Survey at Yallalong antimony Project.
Figure 3. Geophysical Survey in progress at the Yallalong antimony project.
This announcement has been authorised for release by the Managing Director/CEO.
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Octava Minerals Limited, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
Basin Energy Investor Kit
- Corporate info
- Insights
- Growth strategies
- Upcoming projects