Junior explorer Coda Minerals is finding further potential at its flagship Elizabeth Creek copper project in South Australia’s world-class Gawler Craton. The latest drill hole intersected a distinct copper-rich zone indicating a potential southeast expansion of the interpreted iron oxide-copper-gold, or ‘IOCG’ mineralisation.
Coda says a geologically distinct, copper-rich ‘bornite’ dominated zone was intercepted and an independent re-evaluation of the emerging IOCG mineralisation demonstrates the potential for multiple copper-rich bornite zones.
Coda Minerals chief executive officer, Chris Stevens said: “…Drilling continues to emphasise the enormous metal endowment of the broader Emmie System, which comprises both the shallower Emmie Bluff copper-cobalt deposit and the adjacent Emmie IOCG (copper-gold) at depth.”
“…Simply put, we thought we were chasing a single area of mineralisation but we now believe that there may be multiple zones of bornite.”
Owing to their large-scale and strong endowment of minerals, IOCG deposits are among the world’s richest mineral deposits and have the potential to support highly-profitable operations. The Gawler Craton is a prolific IOCG host, housing BHP’s world-renowned deposit Olympic Dam and other deposits such as Prominent Hill and Carrapateena.
Interestingly the region also hosts Coda’s three sedimentary copper-cobalt deposits that when combined contain 1.1 million tonnes of copper equivalent. Notably, the Emmie Bluff deposit constitutes the bulk of its metal inventory, holding a whopping 43.3 million tonnes of ore grading 1.3 per cent copper and 470 parts per million cobalt, containing 562,000 tonnes of copper and a further 20,000 tonnes of cobalt.
Importantly, Emmie Bluff is located stratigraphically above and about 400 metres to the northeast of Coda’s emerging IOCG discovery, newly-coined ‘Emmie IOCG.’
Coda believes Emmie Bluff and its accompanying Emmie IOCG deposit represent a significant accumulation of copper, cobalt, gold and silver mineralisation within a large and complex mineralising system.
The company has integrated Emmie IOCG into the wider ‘Emmie System’ in the ongoing Elizabeth Creek scoping study. The company believes the IOCG deposit’s close proximity to the existing Emmie Bluff resource could present an opportunity to share infrastructure and mutually reduce capital expenditure requirements.
With mining and metallurgy studies having materially advanced, Coda reports the study is on track for completion in the first half of the year.
According to the company, its geological model has evolved and improved the understanding of the mineralisation and highlighted further high-priority drill targets.
Coda is currently drill testing potential eastern extensions of the Emmie Bluff deposit in addition to another IOCG prospect 15km to the south of Emmie IOCG.
The company boasts some heavy saddle bags as its cash balance remains above $11.3 million.
The Elizabeth Creek project is jointly held by Coda and its partner ASX-listed Torrens Mining Limited. Coda holds the lion’s share of the project with a 70 per cent stake with Torrens making up the balance. Interestingly, the pair are eying a merger to ultimately consolidate ownership of the project.
Aiming to quantify a potential IOCG deposit is no small affair and whilst it is only early day Coda appears to have picked the right postcode to be hunting elephants.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au
By Matt Birney
