As part of ongoing mineral exploration within the Moonta-Wallaroo region of South Australia, Peninsula Resources Limited via its parent company Adelaide Resources Ltd is exploring for economic buried copper-gold mineralisation within its EL 4961,...
As part of ongoing mineral exploration within the Moonta-Wallaroo region of South Australia, Peninsula Resources Limited via its parent company Adelaide Resources Ltd is exploring for economic buried copper-gold mineralisation within its EL 4961, which covers the extent of known historic copper lodes and sub-economic Cu discoveries made previously on Northern Yorke Peninsula. In the north of the licence area, the Alford Copper Belt which borders the southern side of the Hiltaba age Tickera Granite pluton has produced many reported high grade and/or broad width mineralised drillhole intercepts over the last 150 years of mineral exploration, but is yet to produce a high grade mineable JORC-compliant resource. Within the Alford Copper Belt, Adelaide Resources has lately recognised the still undefined potential of three previously identified but insufficiently investigated mineral occurrences at the Tomahawk, Bruce and Six Ways prospects, which it has demonstrated are coincidental geochemical, structural, magnetic and gravity anomalies. The company's interest here was kindled in May 2014 by its detection of coherent high tenor surface copper geochemical anomalies (with a range of >500 ppm to 0.1% Cu) recorded using field portable X ray fluorescence spectroscopic analytical scans of soil and calcrete samples. Subsequent checking of assay results from historic shallow auger drilling and aircore drilling carried out by previous explorers in these localities confirmed the copper anomalism delineated within the soils and saprolitic bedrock, which at the large Tomahawk (shaped) anomaly, located approximately 5 km east of Alford West, also exhibited elevated pathfinder trace metal values characteristic of an IOCG mineralised system, e.g. Mo, Bi, Zn, Pb, Ni, Se and Y. Examination of 400 m grid spaced semi-regional gravity data revealed associated north-east trending features, matching the orientation of the main historic copper lodes at the Wallaroo mines, and these gravity features were seen to coincide with sets of NE and NW orientated magnetic linear anomalies which were interpreted to represent intersecting fault and shear structures. Adelaide Resources noted that drilling of the prospects carried out by past explorers had not penetrated deeply enough to properly test for any relatively thin Wallaroo type copper lodes in the bedrock, while the majority of previous deeper drillholes were also mis-aligned for the purpose of intersecting such lodes. It planned to conduct traverse drilling over the prospects with exploration Phase 2 hole spacing closing in to 20 m if results warranted. From further research that it conducted into the geochemical and geophysical traits of the three prospects, Adelaide Resources devised an exploration model which drew on perceived analogous properties of the Mount Dore and Merlin Cu-Au and Mo deposits existing in the Cloncurry-Selwyn district of western Queensland. It used this model to apply for and successfully receive a grant of PACE Initiative Year 8 drilling subsidy funds, administered via approved Project DPY8-08. Test drilling falling under the PACE project agreement with DSD was conducted during the period November 2014 to April 2015. During the drilling campaign, 45 PACE-subsidised aircore holes for 3838 m were completed out of 53 in total drilled by Adelaide Resources, with these holes taken on average to ~80 m depth, at an inclination of 60 degrees towards the south-west or the south-southeast. Similarly, 4 PACE-subsidised deeper RC appraisal holes for 851 m were completed out of 8 in total, with the same orientation as surrounding aircore holes, but being taken to depths of ~200 m. The PACE project drilling began during February 2015 on the priority Tomahawk target, when 14 aircore holes for 1290 m were drilled either 40 m or 20 m apart along three traverses to test the so-called 'Head' part of the anomaly. Visible copper was seen in one hole (TAC020) on the middle traverse (1 m of malachite logged from both 7 m and from 30 m depth). Anomalous gold was found to be present in nearby hole TAC019, sample assays returning 1 m @ 0.60 g/t Au from 58 m depth. Ag, Co, Fe, As, La, U, Pb are occasionally present at anomalous levels. There were no indications that the mineralisation potential at Tomahawk 'Head' might improve with depth below the sections drilled. Also during February 2015, 19 aircore holes for 1479 m were drilled either 40 m or 20 m apart along three traverses to test the so-called 'Handle' part of the anomaly. Visible copper was seen in four holes on two of the traverses, i.e. in TAC007 (13 m of malachite from 50 m depth), TAC008 (1m of malachite from 83 m depth), TAC030 (12 m of malachite from 63 m depth) and TAC033 (15 m of malachite from 75 m depth). It is inferred that primary copper sulphides may occur below the bottom of the latter two holes. Only modest grade assay values were returned from aircore drill cuttings samples taken from holes with trajectories passing immediately below the peak surface anomalies. Low grade copper mineralisation was intersected in several holes, including 6 m @ 0.25% Cu from 3 m depth in TAC010, and 6 m @ 0.21% Cu from 40 m depth in TAC007. Anomalous gold is also present, with hole TAC004 returning 1 m @ 0.52 g/t Au from 56 m depth. Ag, Co, Fe, As, La, U, and Pb are occasionally present at anomalous levels. A sheared contact between non-magnetic metasomatite (Wanderah Metasediments) and a broad, weakly magnetic, steeply north-eastwards dipping zone of metasomatite is interpreted as being the host to the Tomahawk 'Handle' copper mineralisation. Strong alteration of the bedrock metasediments was observed, and trace metal depletion is interpreted. The enhanced copper levels in the soil locally are interpreted to be a product of supergene enrichment, and the gold may be enriched therein around some vertical structures. Previous aircore drilling done by Adelaide Resources had mapped the east-west trending Bruce prospect along 650 m of strike, but doubt remained as to whether the mineralised zone had been definitively closed off to the west, and so four new aircore holes (ALWAC 299, 300, 307 & 308) were drilled on a single south-north traverse as part of DPY8-08. Adjacent PACE holes ALWAC307 (with 25 m @ 0.40% Cu) and ALWAC308 (34 m @ 0.39% Cu) successfully located the Bruce mineralised zone, with the width of the lode now shown to be approximately 30 m. These two holes also encountered molybdenum mineralisation, with ALWAC308 intersecting significant grade including 9 m @ 0.11% Mo from 49 m depth downhole. The main copper bearing mineral observed in later RC drill samples is chalcocite, with rare chalcopyrite and native copper also seen, while molybdenum is present as the sulphide mineral molybdenite. From the 4 RC holes put in at Bruce, a best intercept of 20 m @ 0.56% Cu and 0.11 g/t Au was obtained from 131 m depth in hole AWRC006, including 6 m @ 1.12% Cu and 0.17 g/t Au from 135 m; these peak assays fall within an almost continuously mineralised interval totalling 134 m @ 0.31% Cu and 0.07 g/t Au. In consequence, the Bruce prospect mineralised zone has now been defined over a strike length of 750 m, and, besides appearing to continue with depth, it still remains open to the west. Little past drilling has been completed in this area by other companies, so scope remains for increasing its length, possibly by several hundred metres. Adelaide Resources discovered the Six Ways prospect, located about 1 km south-west of Bruce, in early 2014. Initial exploratory aircore drilling done there returned a number of shallow, long, high grade copper intercepts. As part of the DPY8-08 drilling campaign, 5 aircore holes (ALWAC301-305) were drilled at Six Ways during February 2015 on three existing drill traverses. Significant results obtained include 25 m @ 1.12 % Cu, beginning at a vertical depth of just 4 m below the surface, in hole ALWAC304. The mineralisation commences in saprolite immediately below the base of thin cover sediments, with malachite the main copper mineral observed. Subintervals of higher grade include 4 m @ 2.82% Cu from 5 m downhole, and 5 m @ 2.17% Cu from 18 m depth. Hole ALWAC301 also made notable intercepts including 4 m @ 1.14% Cu within a broader zone of 12 m @ 0.57% Cu from 49 m downhole, and 6 m @ 1.01% Cu within 18 m @ 0.57% Cu from 64 m depth. These intercepts, together with some from hole ALWAC273, appear to define a sub-vertical lode with a horizontal width of 15 to 20 m on section. For the foreseeable future, no further drilling is planned to be done at the Tomahawk prospect. However, additional drilling will be carried out at both Bruce and Six Ways prospects, short-term funding permitting, to help gain an understanding of lode geometry and continuity. Results from the aircore and RC drilling recently conducted at Bruce will be incorporated with previous drillhole data in the company's 3D model of the Alford West prospects, with a view to releasing a mineral resource estimate calculated under JORC guidelines.