Eastern Metals Ltd (ASX:EMS) has served up high-grade copper assays from drilling at its Home of Bullion (HOB) mine in the Northern Territory, including one hole 40 metres beyond the existing resource outline that returned 9.6% copper with significant zinc and silver credits.
Phase 1 of the resource expansion drilling involving four holes for a total of 1,572.5 metres was completed at the end of August, with the results confirming the potential to further increase the size of the HOB deposit.
“Spectacular”
Eastern Metals managing director and chief executive officer Wayne Rossiter said: “The spectacular copper-rich interval intersected in hole HDD049B demonstrates the ongoing high-grade potential of the HoB mine.
“This program was designed to step out from the existing resource envelope, where the resource has not been closed off, with the aim to increase the resource tonnage at HoB.
“Future resource expansion drilling will be targeted to extend this new high-grade zone along with other areas which remain open and have yet to be tested.
"The expansion of the existing resource along with discovery of new lodes in the area remains the strategy to prove a mineable resource.”
Long Section, Main Lode, Home of Bullion showing location of HDD049B and HDD049AA.
Standouts
Hole HDD049AA targeted the central section of the known Main Lower Lode for extensions of the mineralisation in the east-southeast direction.
The hole intersected the Main Lower Lode between 487-500 metres with small 10-15 centimetre bands of massive sulphides, including pyrite, galena and sphalerite.
Hole HDD049B was designed to intersect the Main Lower Lode down dip from HDD049AA to extend the resource above historical drill holes HDD045 and HDD045W1.
The hole intersected a significant interval of mineralisation at 540 metres downhole over an interval of 10.5 metres but appears to be cut off by a large quartz vein.
Significant intervals include:
- HDD049B: 10.4 metres at 1.58% copper, 1.91% zinc, 0.99% lead, 38.85 g/t silver and 0.26 g/t gold from 540 metres downhole, including 1.75 metres at 5.46% copper, 7.37% zinc, 3.64% lead, 142.89 g/t silver and 0.83 g/t gold from 548.65 metres, which included 0.4 metres at 9.55% copper; and
- HDD049AA: 1-metre at 0.03% copper, 3.44% zinc, 3.09% lead, 19.5 g/t silver and 0.04 g/t gold from 495 metres downhole.
The flagship HoB mine was previously one of Australia’s highest-grade copper mines, containing an indicated and inferred mineral resource estimate of 2.5 million tonnes averaging 1.8% copper, 2.0% zinc, 36 g/t silver, 1.2% lead and 0.14 g/t gold.
The deposit comprises two distinct lodes in the Main and South Lodes, which remain open along strike and down dip.
Future drill holes will be designed to test for extensions to the high-grade mineralisation laterally and vertically.
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