The Kalkaroo Cu-Au-Mo deposit is located 65 km north of Olary and 100 km west of Broken Hill, and occupies a portion of very prospective Palaeoproterozoic Bimba Formation subcrop, which potentially could have a 40 km strike length around two...
The Kalkaroo Cu-Au-Mo deposit is located 65 km north of Olary and 100 km west of Broken Hill, and occupies a portion of very prospective Palaeoproterozoic Bimba Formation subcrop, which potentially could have a 40 km strike length around two buried granite batholithic domes that lie in the area between Kalabity and Strathearn Homesteads. A 37-hole regional exploratory drilling programme, partly funded by a PACE Initiative Year 2 grant, was carried out during September-December 2005, and comprised 976 m of aircore precollar drilling and 5383.5 m of RC tails, in all totalling 6359.5 m. The main aim of the programme was to test for the continuation or repetition of "Kalkaroo" style Cu-Au-Mo mineralisation within the prospective sequence, at the most favourable structural sites around the Kalkaroo southern and northern domes, namely, in fold noses, in the vicinity of host bed intersections with potentially mineralising cross-cutting structures, and/or near several previously drilled, geochemically anomalous holes. The prospective host rock sequence consists of a package of variably pyritic and scapolitic albitite, albitised pelite, and carbonate (Units 2 to 7), which lies between the magnetic ("Footwall") albitite of Unit 1 and the graphitic pelite ("Hanging Wall") of Unit 7. 26 of the PACE RC holes were drilled on 12 lines laid out around the southern dome, and the other 11 holes were drilled on 9 lines distributed around the southern nose and around the eastern flank of the northern dome. The prospective horizon was intersected on all but five of these 21 lines. However, in places the prospective sequence was thin or was missing various units. Significant intervals of highly anomalous to sub-economic grade Cu and Au mineralisation (including some native copper) were intersected on lines 2 to 5 on the western flank of the south dome. The best grade intervals included 45 m @ 0.36% Cu, 18 m @ 0.55% Cu, 87 m @ 0.30% Cu and 0.5 ppm Au, 69 m @ 0.67 ppm Au and 24 m @ 164 ppm Mo. Scattered 3-metre intervals range up to 1.79 ppm Au and 1250 ppm Mo. An altered and mineralised dioritic intrusion which was intersected in one hole on line 5 is of special significance, averaging 0.43 ppm Au over 36 m, with a maximum result of 3 m @ 1.54 ppm Au. The extent of this intrusive body is unknown, but the strike length of untested prospective sequence to the north and south of this intersection is considerable. Significant intersections of highly anomalous Cu, Au, Mo and Zn were made on the southern nose of the south dome (line 7), including 27 m @ 1794 ppm Cu, 15 m @ 240 ppm Mo, 12 m @ 3900 ppm Cu and 0.58 ppm Au, and 54 m @ 1950 ppm Zn. Some highly anomalous assay results obtained from holes on the eastern flank of the northern dome have confirmed the anomalous values reported from previous company drilling, with new the intersections including 42 m @ 876 ppm Cu, 15 m @ 242 ppm Mo, 21 m @ 462 ppm Mo, and 18 m @ 2242 ppm Zn. The results obtained on the western flank and southern nose of the south dome in particular, and also on the eastern flank of the north dome, are very encouraging, and warrant follow-up drilling. Further drilling is also required on the southern nose of the north dome, to better define the stratigraphy and locate the prospective sequence. Many other prospective targets remain around the western flank and northern nose of the north dome. In addition, the core of each dome presents a number of prospective Cu-Au-Mo targets, which remain to be properly tested. The Homestead prospect, located on an elongated magnetic feature which extends westwards from the Kalkaroo deposit, is also highly prospective. Previous drilling on this feature by MIM and Newcrest suggests that the prospective sequence is present and that the zone is highly anomalous in Cu. A representative suite of drillhole cuttings samples has been submitted to PIRSA, and all of the drill sites have been partially rehabilitated.
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