Copper Mineralisation Confirmed At Whaleshark

Miramar Resources Limited (ASX:M2R, “Miramar” or “the Company”) is pleased to advise that diamond drilling at the Company’s 100%-owned Whaleshark Project, in the Ashburton region of WA, has confirmed the presence of bedrock copper sulphide mineralisation within the Project for the first time.

• Initial EIS co-funded diamond drilling campaign completed
• Bedrock copper mineralisation (chalcopyrite) intersected in two holes
• Core being processed for analysis – further drilling planned

The Company recently completed an initial diamond drilling programme which consisted of three holes totalling 1,050m. The programme is co-funded under the WA government Exploration Incentive Scheme.

The first diamond drilling campaign targeted a discrete gravity anomaly within the Whaleshark granite which is crosscut by a NW-trending structure and located beneath coincident MMI soil anomalism and strongly anomalous “interface” aircore results up to 435ppm Cu, 889ppm Co and 7.7g/t Ag (Figure 1).

WSDD001 targeted the southern part of the gravity anomaly, whilst WSDD002 and WSDD003 targeted the 4 km long NW-trending structure itself (Figure 1).

WSDD001 and WSDD002 intersected medium to coarse-grained biotite-rich granodiorite, with varying chlorite and/or epidote alteration, and fine-grained disseminated sulphides, predominantly pyrite.

WSDD003 intersected chlorite-altered and silicified diorite, also with coarse grained biotite, fine-grained disseminated pyrite and occasional coarse-grained magnetite.

Chalcopyrite was observed in two of the three holes with the most significant copper mineralisation observed within a steeply dipping shear zone in WSDD002 at 231.6m downhole (Figure 2).

Rafts of brown iron oxide-rich material were also observed within the shear zone (Figure 3) indicating that the copper sulphides and iron-rich rafts had been dragged into the NW-trending structure from elsewhere.

Miramar’s Executive Chairman, Mr Allan Kelly, said the Company was greatly encouraged by the results of the first diamond drilling programme.

“We have now confirmed the presence of bedrock copper sulphide mineralisation at Whaleshark for the first time indicating the MMI and aircore anomalies have a bedrock source,” Mr Kelly said.

“This is the most significant evidence of the potential for IOCG mineralisation at Whaleshark since the project was first highlighted by WMC Resources in the mid 1990’s” he added.

“Given the strong relationship between copper mineralisation and iron oxides in this style of deposit, our next step will be to drill test the other MMI, gravity and aircore anomalies associated with the Banded Iron Formation at each end of the NW-trending structure” Mr Kelly said.

Core from the three holes was logged on site in Onslow and has been shipped to Kalgoorlie for cutting, sampling and analysis. Results for these holes will be released once received and processed.

The next steps at Whaleshark include:

• Further diamond drilling along the NW-trending fault
• Completion of interface aircore drilling over all MMI anomalies identified to date
• Investigation of suitable geophysical methods to help target further drilling

Figure 1. Whaleshark Project showing diamond drilling in relation to MMI and aircore results.

Figure 2. Chalcopyrite “seam” in shear zone within biotite granodiorite (WSDD002 – 231.6m).

Figure 3. Iron oxide “raft” within shear zone (WSDD002 – 231.6m)

Table 1. Diamond drilling summary

Table 2. Summary Geological Log for Whaleshark diamond drilling

Cautionary statement: Visual estimates of mineral abundance should never be considered a proxy or substitute for laboratory analyses where concentrations or grades are the factor of principal economic interest. Visual estimates also potentially provide no information regarding impurities or deleterious physical properties relevant to valuations.

Click here for the full ASX Release

This article includes content from Miramar 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.