Forrestania Resources Ltd (ASX:FRS) has confirmed the copper prospectivity of its Eastern Goldfields Project in Western Australia with rock chip samples taken during recent fieldwork at Breakaway Dam returning up to 26.7% copper.
Notable historical and recent copper rock chips returned from a review of previous copper discoveries at Breakaway Dam include:
- FR000766 – 26.7% copper, 15.4ppm silver and 0.5ppm gold;
- K229729 – 23.0% copper and 0.7ppm silver; and
- K229730 – 1.1% copper.
What’s more, Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) Exploration recently applied for a large tenement package (E29/1234), which is directly north of the Breakaway Dam project area – further strengthening the potential of the region.
Read: Forrestania Resources identifies highly anomalous lithium and LCT pathfinders in rock chips at Eastern Goldfields Project
“Obvious prospectivity for copper"
Forrestania managing director Michael Anderson said: “Since announcing the option agreement to acquire the Breakaway Dam tenement back in May, our team has been proactively reviewing the historical data, in parallel with a comprehensive mapping and sampling program.
“Our follow-up work has confirmed obvious prospectivity for copper with high-grade rock chips proximal to earlier results.
“Importantly, previous geophysics identified several drill targets, which were never followed up, and we intend to make these an additional focus of our upcoming drill programs alongside the targets that have been generated for lithium, gold and REEs across the broader Eastern Goldfields Project.
“We, and no doubt our neighbours, are confident that the potential exists to make new discoveries in this highly prospective belt, and we look forward to drill testing our priority targets, once heritage approvals are in place.”
The Eastern Goldfields project area.
Breakaway Dam potential
Breakaway Dam has demonstrated strong geochemical anomalism with sulphide-rich copper drilling results with logged pyrite and pyrrhotite.
Previously, FRS geologists have geologically mapped significant lithium-rich pegmatites across Breakaway Dam.
However, in addition to the pegmatites, malachite has also been mapped by the company from known historic workings and large areas of sediments have also been mapped.
As anticipated, highly anomalous copper values were returned from the malachite sample – FR000766 returned 26.7% copper, 0.5ppm gold, 15.4ppm silver and 245ppm cobalt, backing up the historical geochemical data.
Strong geochemical results have also been returned across the tenement, with highly anomalous copper and pathfinder values from historic soil and rock chips, with a trend of approximately 2.5 kilometres of anomalous copper soil and rock chip samples.
Anomalous geochemical results for gold, silver, arsenic, bismuth, molybdenum, lead, selenium and tellurium are coincident with this copper trend and correspond with the (un-named) major faulted structure that strikes through the Alexandra Bore greenstone belt.
Forward plan
FRS intends to complete further reconnaissance trips to geologically map and undertake additional geochemical sampling at the Breakaway Dam project area.
A drilling program has been designed to test the copper anomalism once full heritage approval has been granted.
Furthermore, the company has applied for EIS funding to test the sulphide conductive bodies and the copper potential at Breakaway Dam.