A recently-completed magnetic survey by Carnaby Resources has jagged multiple new copper and gold targets at the Greater Duchess joint venture (JV) it shares with Latitude 66 near Mount Isa in Queensland.
The versatile time domain electromagnetic (VTEM) survey covering 194km revealed multiple strong bedrock conductors at previously-undrilled sites at the JV’s Mount Hope and Nil Desperandum deposits.
Encouragingly, of the strong conductors that have been picked up to date, only four – Mount Hope Central, Mount Hope South, Mohawk and Nil Desperandum – have previously been drilled. All of them correlate with copper mineralisation, showing that the remaining targets have a high potential to become further discoveries.
The company says one of the standout results from the survey came from the Mohawk NS corridor, which extends across 4km. The area, which threw up a discovery intersection of 21m at 2 per cent copper and 0.6 grams per tonne gold earlier in the month, has now lit up with multiple other strong undrilled conductive plates, making it a priority drilling target.
Another prospect, Pronuba, also set the VTEM alight with a new strong conductor, while a strong electromagnetic (EM) response resembling the nearby Nil Desperandum deposit was found 2km south-east of that target.
Carnaby Resources managing director Robert Watkins said: “Carnaby’s first-ever VTEM survey at Greater Duchess has delivered game-changing results. The numerous new undrilled strong late time conductors identified are all exceptional walk-up drill targets and provide an immediate focus for ongoing exploration drilling aimed at increasing the open-pit mineral resources at the Greater Duchess project.”
Greater Duchess, which spans more than 1900 square kilometres in the mineral-rich Mount Isa region, has been a key focus for the JV due to its multiple iron oxide-copper-gold (IOCG) deposits. Sitting 70km south of Mount Isa, the project benefits from world-class infrastructure including access to rail, roads, a gas pipeline and a highly-skilled workforce that is supported by many contract mining and haulage operators.
Carnaby, as the operator at Greater Duchess, is a conducting prefeasibility study (PFS) on the jointly-owned grounds and it will play a critical role in future development plans.
With a global resource of 281,000 tonnes of copper equivalent already established, the project is showing plenty of promise. But it will be the PFS, which is expected to be completed within the next few months, that will ultimately determine the likelihood of Greater Duchess becoming a standalone mining operation.
Latitude also has plenty on its plate right now. With Greater Duchess added to its ambitious plans to expand and develop its highly-promising Kuusamo Schist Belt (KSB) gold project in northern Finland, which boasts 600,000 ounces of gold, news flow from Latitude is likely to be constant and meaningful.
And that should keep eagle-eyed investors on alert as the company’s activities unfold.
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