Diamond drilling at JV partners DiscovEx and Carnaby Resources’ Nil Desperandum prospect near Mt Isa in Queensland has unveiled another patch of copper-gold mineralisation that has extended the zone's prospectivity. The campaign was aimed at extending the target’s down plunge mineralisation and the grade of its lateral extensions.
Assay results from the drilling campaign include 19m at 0.9 per cent copper and 0.4 grams per tonne gold from 532.5m
The company says the mineralisation, which is concentrated in a vein-like deposit known as a shoot, is open at depth and plans are plan place to continue chasing it through additional drilling and downhole electromagnetic surveys.
Some of the notable strikes from drilling of the shoot’s eastern rim include 7m grading 2.3 per cent copper from 284m, inside of a larger 23m section running 1.0 per cent copper with anomalous gold from a depth of 282m.
Results from an RC hole plunged at the shoot’s western wing include 8m going 1.1 per cent copper and 0.3 g/t gold from 24m.
Carnaby believes targeting the breccia shoot could bolster the project’s resource and development potential given the feature has to-date delivered excellent grades, scale and continuity.
The work follows previous drilling at the shoot that yielded a number of solid results including a healthy 9m intersection at 10.3 per cent copper and 1.2 g/t gold inside of a larger 41m intersection going 4.1 per cent copper and 0.5 g/t gold.
Precious metals explorer DiscovEx divested 82.5 per cent of its interest in its Southern Hub exploration tenements including Nil Desperandum to copper focussed Carnaby a little over two years ago in exchange for a free carried interest in the operation.
The transaction allows DiscovEx to focus on gold exploration in Western Australia whilst potentially claiming a slice through its JV partners efforts.
Carnaby has also seen success in its own right with recent drilling at its wholly owned Mount Hope North prospect yielding a massive 75m intersection going 1.7 per cent copper from 221m.
The strike could bode well for DiscovEx with Carnaby suggesting the extensive corridor could sit between Nil Desperandum and Mount Hope.
Outside of its JV operations Perth-based DiscovEx is ramping up its gold exploration effort in WA with the company recently launching a 10,000m air-core program at its Edjudina project about 250km north-east of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia.
The explorer is using the probe to test a compelling gold anomaly coined “Spartan” and follows systematic soil sampling and geophysical survey work.
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