Magmatic Resources Ltd (ASX:MAG) has made strides in the hunt for Northparkes-style mineralisation at the Myall Copper-Gold Project, just 60 kilometres north of the target Northparkes Mine, with promising drilling and initial metallurgical test work results.
The company hit copper and gold mineralisation in all 14 diamond holes drilled, totalling more than 11,000 metres of drilling on the tenure.
“Magmatic’s management continues to recognise the immense ongoing potential of the Myall Project, having now significantly exceeded the original planned 8,000-metre diamond program,” Magmatic managing director Dr Adam McKinnon said.
“With each drill hole completed, we are seeing the volume of copper and gold mineralisation in the system grow substantially.”
The world-class Northparkes porphyry copper-gold deposits have a current combined resource and reserve base of 607 million tonnes at 0.55% copper and 0.21g/t gold, a discovery Magmatic Resources intends to replicate at Myall.
Drilling hits 400-metre mineralised interval
The northmost hole drilled at the Myall Project’s Corvette prospect generated particularly interesting results, having encountered a 455.2-metre interval of mineralisation within a broad pyrite and chalcopyrite formation.
The larger interval assayed at 0.13% copper equivalent, with 0.12% copper, 0.01 g/t gold and 11 parts per million (ppm) molybdenum from 249 metres of depth.
Other intervals of note from within this larger 400-metre intersection include:
- 130 metres at 0.19% copper equivalent, 0.18% copper, 0.01g/t gold and 25ppm molybdenum from 301 metres, including 18 metres at 0.62% copper equivalent, 0.59% copper, 0.02g/t gold and 97 ppm molybdenum from 342 metres; and,
- 56.0 metres at 0.25% copper equivalent, 0.21% copper, 0.05g/t gold and 6 ppm molybdenum from 650 metres, including 11 metres at 0.37% copper equivalent, 0.30% copper, 0.08g/t gold and 2 ppm molybdenum from 691 metres.
“Our most recent drilling, including the latest oblique and scissor holes from the northeast, are providing our technical team with invaluable data on the geology, structure and importantly, mineralisation in the Corvette area,” McKinnon said.
“The footprint of this impressive system continues to expand and analysis of the intense alteration, veining and metal zonation in the broader Corvette-Kingwood area is providing vectors towards potential new mineralisation in multiple target areas.”
Promising metallurgy results
Initial metallurgical test work on a composite sample from the Corvette prospect has demonstrated that sulphide mineralisation from Corvette is treatable using industry-standard grinding and flotation techniques.
The test results also show that gold and silver upgrade alongside the copper.
"I am very pleased with the initial metallurgical test work for Corvette," McKinnon commented.
"Although additional test work may be required in the future, these results represent another step in demonstrating Myall Project's potential."
The future test work might also aim to produce a separate molybdenum concentrate, given elevated molybdenum grades in drill results.
Overall, the test work and drilling results appear optimistic for Magmatic Resources.
The company remains confident in the Myall Project's potential, believing it could rival the Northparkes porphyry copper-gold deposits to the south.