Castillo Copper Ltd (LSE:CCZ, ASX:CCZ) has hit targeted cobalt mineralisation zones in drilling at Tors Tank Prospect within the Broken Hill Alliance Project’s East Zone near Broken Hill in Far West New South Wales.
Four drill holes for a total of 488 metres have been completed in the latest cobalt-focused campaign.
All 488 one-metre reverse circulation (RC) samples collected have been logged and sent for processing and analysis.
Subject to confirmation from final assay results, the company’s geology team believes there is potential for cobalt and rare earth element (REE) mineralisation.
Logging of chips
Historical consistency
Drilling intersected a geological sequence comprising clay, amphibolite, schist, gneiss and pegmatite that appears to be dipping moderately.
More significantly, the intersected geology is interpreted to be consistent with observations by previous explorers, including Broken Hill North, during the 1970-1980s.
Multiple disseminated sulphide layers, mostly pyrite, up to 12 metres thick were identified, with field XRF observations indicating positive readings of cobalt mineralisation within the amphibolite zones.
A photo-microscope at 40x magnification of a gneiss containing disseminated pyrite. Across the Broken Hill region, this type of mineralisation has been shown to contain cobalt in solid solution.
REE potential
Significant magnetite zones which are directly associated with pegmatite up to 14 metres thick were found closer to the amphibolite layers, which could potentially host REEs.
The interpretation is based on recent re-assays of a diamond core at Iron Blow Prospect within the East Zone, which intersected 8 metres at 1,270 parts per million TREO.
Excellent start
“The drilling campaign has got off to an excellent start, with initial interpretations from the geology team confirming that targeted cobalt zones have been intersected,” Castillo Copper managing director Dr Dennis Jensen said.
“Moreover, whilst subject to final assay results, the board is delighted to learn that significant pegmatite zones have been intersected which could potentially host rare earth elements.”
About Castillo Copper
The exploration company is primarily focused on copper across Australia and Zambia and is embarking on a strategic transformation to morph into a mid-tier copper group underpinned by its core projects.
Its large footprint in the Mt Isa copper belt district in northwest Queensland has significant exploration upside, evidenced by several high-grade targets and a sizeable untested anomaly within its boundaries.
It also has four high-quality prospective assets across Zambia’s copper belt, which is the second largest copper producer in Africa, a large tenure footprint proximal to Broken Hill’s world-class deposit that is prospective for cobalt-zinc-silver-lead-copper-gold and platinoids, and interest in the Cangai Copper Mine in northern New South Wales, which is one of Australia’s highest grading historic copper mines.