With preparations in the final stages, QMines Ltd (ASX:QML) will shortly commence drilling at the newly discovered Artillery Road Prospect within its flagship Mt Chalmers Copper and Gold Project in central Queensland.
This follows the exploration company’s signing of an access and compensation agreement with the landowner of the Artillery Road electromagnetic (EM) anomalies, which were earlier identified by a regional airborne geophysical survey.
The 30-hole reverse circulation drilling program will begin as soon as a drill rig is mobilised on site.
Artillery Road Prospect geology, zinc soil geochemistry, gossans and VTEM plate models projected to surface.
Copper sightings
Last week, QMines said ground investigations of three of the 34 EM anomalies – labelled as VT01, VT02 and VT03 targets – returned very encouraging signs of mineralisation.
Gossanous outcrops, comprising iron oxides with visible copper mineralisation (cuprite and tenorite), had been identified measuring more than 700 metres in strike and up to 20 metres wide at surface.
Further, a broad 400 by 250-metre zinc soil pXRF anomaly, with more than 100 parts per million zinc, had been detected adjacent to the gossan.
Analysis of the outcropping gossans returned readings of up to 0.68% copper from pXRF.
A section of the Artillery Road gossan outcrop.
“Exciting time”
“It is very exciting to be commencing drilling at the first of many greenfields exploration targets at Mt Chalmers,” QMines managing director Andrew Sparke said.
“This has required a significant amount of work including data capture, analysis, ranking, field investigations, drill planning and finally access agreements.
“I would like to thank our contractors, staff and particularly the local landowner for all the efforts and support.
“With approximately 30 anomalies still to assess, this is a very exciting time to be a QMines’ shareholder.”
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