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Asian Battery Metals PLC (ABM or the Company, ASX: AZ9) is pleased to announce interim results and modifications of its ongoing 2024 regional reconnaissance and exploration program. The program is designed to systematically evaluate the project’s potential for Cu-Ni mineralisation in an area outside the original and main Oval Prospect through the application of a suite of exploration techniques as well as an initial investigation of the newly discovered Copper Ridge mineralisation.
HIGHLIGHTS
While the Oval Cu-Ni Prospect exploration program continues, the Company has recently received results from geophysical exploration programs, ground mapping and sampling. The exploration has identified four additional exploration targets in the Yambat (Oval Cu-Ni) Project.
The Oval Prospect drilling program totals 2,500m with approximately 1,320m of this program now completed. Results for this programme will be announced when assays come to hand.
The Geophysical Studies and subsequent groundproofing have confirmed:
Indication of a broader magmatic copper-nickel system beyond the Oval Cu-Ni Prospect with:
- A new outcrop of mineralised gabbro containing sulphide blebs being identified at the South Zone, 1.7km Southeast of Oval mineralised gabbro.
- An expansion of the previously reported Ni-Cu mineralised gabbro outcrop at the North Oval area. This expansion indicates a significant NW extension of the main Oval Ni-Cu mineralisation.
A discovery of copper-gold mineralisation in the northern part of the tenement following detailed mapping of an area 7km to the north of the Oval Prospect. The newly named Copper Ridge is a different style of mineralisation characterised by:
- A 30m wide by 400m long zone of silicified, magnetite- altered andesite with significant disseminated chalcopyrite mineralisation has been delineated before dipping under alluvial cover to the east. Assay results from rock chip sampling yielded maximum values of 0.29 ppm Au, 0.4% Cu, and greater than 15% Fe.
Detailed geophysical studies and scout drilling are now planned for these new regional targets in this field season.
Gan-Ochir Zunduisuren, Managing Director, commented: “The 2024 regional reconnaissance program has resulted in a major advancement of the geological knowledge in what we consider to be one of the emerging copper and nickel exploration districts in Mongolia. The program is comprised of mapping, surface geophysical study, and soil and rock sampling programs across our tenement. Interim results indicate a larger exploration area fertile for magmatic copper and nickel sulphide system beyond the Oval prospect. In addition, the ABM team has made a new exciting discovery at the Copper Ridge target during the early phase of the program. Currently, the company is continuing its regional exploration program and a scout drilling program in parallel with the Oval Prospect drilling program.”
Figure-1. “YAMBAT” Cu-Ni PGE project, and its prospective areas
The 2024 reconnaissance and exploration program has the following key components:
- Outcrop mapping: A detailed geological mapping program will be undertaken to delineate exposed rock formations, identify associated structural controls and mineralisation indicators, and possibly extend the known mineralised zone/gabbro/ at the surface level.
- Completion of the geophysical survey program: employing Pole-Dipole Induced Polarization (PDIP), Controlled Source Audio Frequency Magnetotelluric (CSAMT), and Audio-Frequency Magnetotelluric methods at the Oval and MS1 prospects within the Yambat project.
- Field Reconnaisence: Verify geophysical anomalies on site and collect geochemical samples from areas exhibiting interesting alteration or mineralisation.
Detailed Geological Outcrop Mapping
Detailed outcrop mapping was conducted across a 5.77km2 area within the western sector of the 106.06km2 project area at a scale of 1:2000. The Project is located in the Yesonbulag soum, Gobi-Altai province, Mongolia. The mapping concentrated on delineating Ni-Cu bearing mafic units, establishing lithological contacts, characterising alteration mineralogy, and identifying structural trends to guide subsequent exploration of mineralised zones.
The primary mineralisation is associated with the “Oval” gabbro intrusive body, with subordinate later-stage hydrothermal vein-type mineralisation observed within gabbroic dykes in the mapping area. In the initial discovery area, the Oval gabbro is entirely overlain by overburden, although strongly mineralised gabbro is exposed in the North Oval region and to the southeast at the South Target area.
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TNC Identifies Broad Zones of Surface Copper Mineralisation at Mt Oxide Project, QLD
HIGHLIGHTS
- Assay results received from a successful rock chip sampling program at the Aquila and Ivena North prospects, part of TNC’s 100% owned Mt Oxide Project in Queensland.
- Aquila and Ivena North are both part of the larger Dorman Fault Mineral System, a +10km long trend that hosts the Vero Cu-Ag-Co Resource and the Camp Gossans Prospect.
- At Aquila, sampling has highlighted six zones of anomalous Cu, Co & As associated with multiple gossanous breccia structures up to 30m wide.
- Aquila B Trend: +180m long and +30m wide Cu +/- Co-As-Ag within a 440m long fault breccia with visible copper oxide mineralisation. The trend includes rock chip channels returning 3.6m @ 0.49% Cu with a peak assay of 0.94% Cu.
- Aquila A Trend: +20m long and up to 12m wide Cu-As-Sb anomalous zone within +210m strike of hematite altered hydrothermal breccias, returning up to 0.05% Cu and 12.7g/t Ag and anomalous pathfinders.
- Aquila D Trend: +100m long and up to 4m wide Cu-Co trend associated with a historical prospecting pit with strong copper oxide mineralisation, and a peak assay of 0.87% Cu.
- At Ivena North, sampling has identified Cu, Co & As trends within two geochemically anomalous zones from multiple gossanous breccia structures that are up to 25m wide.
- Ivena North A Trend – +130m long and up to 15m wide Cu-Co-As trend within a +580m strike of hydrothermal breccia and gossans that returned assays up to 1.38% Cu and anomalous As +/- Ag-Sb-Bi-Mo.
- A combined 680m strike length of mapped hematite silica gossans remains under-sampled between the Aquila and Mt Gordon Prospects.
- Rock chip results will be integrated with ongoing mapping and results from the Queensland Government-funded MIMDAS IP and MT survey, which is currently underway along the Dorman Fault Mineral System.
The rock chip sampling program has successfully identified new broad zones of strongly anomalous copper and pathfinder elements. The copper grades and pathfinder anomalism returned in the samples are at levels consistent with other outcropping leached gossans associated with historic drill discoveries in the region.
The Ivena North and Aquila prospects are located along strike northwest of the high-grade Vero Cu-Ag-Co resource (Vero). Both prospects are high priority exploration targets for TNC, with a MIMDAS Induced Polarisation (IP) and Magnetotellurics (MT) geophysical survey continuing at Mt Oxide to test for geophysical anomalies coincident with outcropping geochemically anomalous gossans1, 3.
COMMENT
True North Copper’s Managing Director, Bevan Jones said:
“Our exploration team has been working hard to systematically map and sample the +10km Dorman fault trend at Mt Oxide. Multiple gossans have been identified, and rock chip results from the gossans are revealing large areas of wider and stronger mineralisation on which to focus our future exploration work, including the ongoing MIMDAS geophysical survey.
We are also remobilising the on-ground team to systematically collect additional rock chip samples over the newly discovered Black Marlin and Rhea structures. Further geophysical results are filtering through, and updates will be released soon. We are potentially building a significant district at Mt Oxide with multiple high priority targets which have never been drilled. Our next steps include prioritisation of these targets, designing and planning upcoming drill programs, and securing the necessary permits for on-ground access.”
Figure 1. Mt Oxide Project with priority prospects identified within the Dorman Fault corridor.
Summary of Results
During Q4 CY23, TNC’s Discovery Team initiated a prospectivity analysis of the Dorman Fault Mineral System, host to the Vero Cu-Ag-Co Resource (Vero) (15.03Mt @ 1.46% Cu and 10.59g/t Ag M, I & I, refer Table 1)4. Geological and structural mapping delineated a +10km highly prospective corridor of intermittently outcropping gossanous and silica breccias with no drilling, surface sampling or effective geophysics. Since completion of this work, TNC has collected 388 rock chip samples, including 243.5m of rock chip channel samples at the Ivena North and Aquila Prospects where TNC is currently acquiring MIMDAS IP and MT as part of its Queensland Government Collaborative Exploration Initiative (CEI) grant3.
Analysis of the assay results has highlighted eight high priority geochemically anomalous zones within the larger, structurally complex footprint at both prospects with two of these zones remaining open to the north. These anomalies have similar pathfinder geochemical signatures and are within the order of magnitude of the results from Camp Gossans4 south of Vero, which are considered analogous to the leached gossan outcrops at the Esperanza South deposit4.
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This article includes content from True North Copper, 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.
Golden Deeps Intersects 80m Mineralised Zone with Semi-Massive Copper and Zinc Sulphides at Havilah Project, Lachlan Fold Belt, NSW
- Thick copper and zinc sulphide mineralisation has been intersected in diamond drilling of key targets at the Company’s Havilah Project in the world-class Lachlan Fold Belt Copper-Gold Province of NSW1,2 (see Hazelbrook Prospect plan - Figure 1, cross section - Figure 2 and location plans - Figures 3 and 4).
- Diamond drillhole HVD003, which tested the extensive Hazelbrook copper soil and rockchip (>1% Cu) anomaly3, intersected patches of semi-massive copper (chalcopyrite) and zinc (sphalerite) sulphides as well as vein and disseminated sulphides across an 80m zone in the targeted Sofala Volcanics (see Image 1 showing the sulphide mineralisation; Appendix 1 for drillhole details & Appendix 2 for descriptions of mineralisation).
- The mineralised intersection in HVD003 included a 28m zone (from 85.8m) of more intense sulphide mineralisation which produced high-grade portable XRF (pXRF) readings of up to 18.5% Cu and 34.8% Zn, averaging 0.5% Cu and 0.7% Zn* (see Appendix 3 for full tables of pXRF readings and Cautionary Note below).
- Diamond hole HVD001, which tested the Hazelbrook North Cu-Zn-Au anomaly3, intersected 40m of silicified breccia/veining and disseminated sulphides (py +/-cpy, sph) from surface, and HVD002, which tested a strong Induced Polarisation (IP) anomaly1, intersected a 130m zone of altered mafic volcanics with scattered veinlets and disseminations of pyrite and rare chalcopyrite (see Figure 1, location, and Appendix 2, descriptions).
- The diamond drilling program continues with HVD004 testing the Hazelbrook anomaly 200m along strike to the northeast of HVD003, again under rockchip sample values of >1% Cu3 (see Figure 1).
Image 1: HVD003, 85.8m to 86m: semi-massive sulphide patches of copper sulphide - chalcopyrite (cpy) and zinc sulphide - sphalerite (sph) in Ordovician mafic volcanics (pXRF readings up to 18.5% Cu, 34.8% Zn* – see Appendix 3)
*Cautionary Note in relation to disclosure of visual estimates and pXRF readings described in this release and detailed in Appendix 2 and 3 respectively: The Company cautions that visual estimates of sulphide mineralisation abundance and pXRF readings should never be considered a proxy or substitute for laboratory analyses. Laboratory assays (ICP MS/OES and Fire Assay for gold) are required to determine representative grades and intervals of the elements associated with the visible mineralisation reported from geological logging and pXRF readings. Core is being sampled for submission to ALS laboratories in Orange, NSW. Laboratory analytical results are expected within 3 to 6 weeks.
Golden Deeps CEO Jon Dugdale commented: “The intersection of sulphide mineralisation in all three initial holes at Havilah, including thick zones of copper and zinc sulphide mineralisation in HVD003, indicates we’re on top of a large porphyry-sulphide system with similar characteristics to other major copper-gold discoveries in the Lachlan Fold Belt such as Cadia-Ridgeway and the recent Boda-Kaiser discovery.
“We look forward to completing the remainder of our diamond drilling program and receiving the laboratory results from the holes completed, which will be released as soon as they come to hand and are compiled.”
Figure 1: Havilah Project, soil and rockchip copper anomalies on magnetics image with current drilling
The third hole of the program, HVD003, tested the Hazelbrook target where an extensive northeast-southwest trending copper-zinc soil anomaly has been defined with rockchip values of over 1% Cu3 (Figure 1).
HVD003 intersected a sulphide mineralised zone from 85m to 119m which included patches and stringers (averaging 1-2%) of the copper-sulphide - chalcopyrite and the zinc-sulphide - sphalerite. These patches occur within extensively altered (Ordovician) mafic volcanic/volcanoclastic rocks with disseminated chalcopyrite-sphalerite-pyrite mineralisation which occurs from 85m to 166m (over 80m) (see Appendix 2).
The mineralisation aligns with the surface soil and rockchip copper-zinc anomaly, striking northeast, dipping to the northwest, and the drilling intersection approximating true width (see cross section, Figure 2, below).
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This article includes content from Golden Deeps, 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.
