Caspin Resources Ltd (ASX:CPN) has fielded further strong copper results after recently wrapping up an extensive exploration program at the West Musgrave Nickel-Copper Extension of Mount Squires Project in the West Musgrave region of WA.
The program of drilling, soil and rock chip sampling as well as airborne geophysics has defined a new prospect – known as Sienna – following the discovery of surface copper mineralisation up to 10.6% in outcrop along an 8-kilometre copper geochemical anomaly in November.
Surface copper
The Nebo and Succoth deposits – with around a million tonnes of contained copper – have no surface expression at all, lying beneath shallow sand cover, while the Babel deposit has only a very small subcrop of roughly 5 square metres, which also displays malachite.
Caspin, therefore, regards any surface expression of mineralisation in this region as highly encouraging.
Assays from samples have returned high-grade copper values up to 10.6% from a small malachite-rich outcrop within a broader area of mafic outcrop covering an area of about 2.5 square kilometres.
Malachite is a copper carbonate mineral commonly formed through the weathering of copper sulphide. Four samples were collected from this outcrop, averaging 7.1% copper.
The samples also returned elevated levels of gold (up to 0.1 g/t) and silver (up to 6.9 g/t).
A separate sample of mafic rock within the prospect also returned 0.12 g/t platinum and 0.11 g/t palladium.
Elevated platinum and palladium are a common mineralisation associated with copper deposits in the West Musgrave region.
The new prospect is at the eastern end of a large, 8-kilometre-long copper-palladium anomaly. The company has also found elevated copper (up to 1,015 parts per million) in mafic rock chip samples from over 7 kilometres along strike from the Sienna prospect and outside of the current extent of the soil geochemistry sampling.
Significant sulphide system
The company regards this as further evidence that it’s in the early stages of defining a significant magmatic sulphide system prospective for copper, and potentially also nickel and platinum-group elements (PGEs).
Caspin CEO Greg Miles said: “It is fantastic to have confirmation of high-grade copper mineralisation at the newly proclaimed Sienna prospect. But just as important is to see the association of other metals such as platinum and palladium that are commonly associated with magmatic sulphide deposits in the West Musgrave region.
“More important still, is that we’re also seeing anomalous copper and PGE mineralisation in rock chips on several locations along the strike of a large 8-kilometre-long copper and palladium anomaly.
“This gives us confidence that we’ve identified a new mineralised intrusion, or suite of intrusions, with the potential for a discovery or discoveries of significant scale.”
More results to follow
The company awaits results from a further 1,200 soil samples along the West Musgrave Nickel-Copper corridor, in the hope that these will assist it to evaluate additional copper and nickel anomalies along this trend and possibly define drill targets or additional geophysical surveying for the 2023 field campaign.
Results are also pending from aircore drilling in the One Tree Hill area and the Duchess Prospect, which has recently returned significant grades of gold, silver, copper and molybdenum.
The company continues to interpret results and develop its geological models.
Meanwhile, planning for the 2023 field season at Mount Squires is well advanced.