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High grade copper results from Sandy Creek
ASSAY results from a reverse circulation drill program
at Breakaway Resources’ Sandy Creek
Copper-Gold Project in northwest Queensland
reveal high grade copper mineralization over
600 metres strike length. Results from 12 of 16
holes confirm the internal continuity of the shearhosted
mineralization and indicate potential for
extensions along strike and down-dip.
Highlights from the drill holes include 1 metre
from 65 metres @ 6.23% copper, 0.52
grams/tonne gold and 23 grams/tonne silver,
and 2 metres from 37 metres @ 2.08% copper,
5.23 grams/tonne gold and 8.3 grams/tonne
silver. The company says these high grade results
were supported by broader intersections
including 45 metres from 36 metres @ 0.66%
copper, 0.14 grams/tonne gold and 2.7
grams/tonne silver.
The project is in the world-class Cloncurry
mineral district within the Eloise exploration
area, and is about 20km west of FMR Investments’
Eloise copper mine and about 100km
south of Xstrata’s Ernest Henry copper mine.
Breakaway Resources’ managing director
David Hutton says the proximity to these projects
is positive for Sandy Creek, with potential
to make use of the existing infrastructure.
“We’re right up hard against existing infrastructure,
so obviously it works in our favour
regarding the potential economics of anything
we might find. Like any mine site, Eloise has
mining and milling infrastructure, it has accommodation,
it has power, and so potentially
we could transport the ore to that mine,
that milling facility.”
David Hutton has not ruled out joining
forces with Breakaway’s second largest investor
FMR Investments to continue exploration
and development of Sandy Creek.
“There are no immediate plans to enter into a
partnership, I think FMR is certainly aware of
what we’re doing, I think we’re very much on
their radar, they’re watching what’s going on
and I think they’re seeking to strengthen that
relationship because it will just give people
options down the track.”
Surface mapping and rock chip sampling
have identified semi-continuous sub-crops of
secondary copper mineralization to the north
of Sandy Creek. The company says surface
mineralization that stretches for more than
125km strike length is yet to be drill tested.
A share placement was recently completed
to raise $1.1 million and increase the company’s
cash reserves to $3.3 million which will
go into exploration at Sandy Creek.
David Hutton says the proceeds will reinforce
Breakaway’s focus on exploration of
Eloise, including follow up reverse circulation
diamond drilling and developing the priority
drill targets for 2012. “Previously we had focused
a little on the exploration perhaps, but
also heavily on a suite of nickel assets in
Western Australia, so we made a strategic
decision in the first half of 2011 to change the
focus of the company.
Osborne production to begin in March
PRODUCTION at Ivanhoe Australia’s Osborne
Copper-Gold Project in the Cloncurry
tenement in northwest Queensland is expected
to begin in March 2012. A preliminary
economic assessment confirms that Ivanhoe
is on track to mark a major milestone in its
evolution from explorer to producer.
Ivanhoe Australia’s Osborne Copper-Gold Project in
northwest Queensland.
“A great deal has been accomplished since
we purchased Osborne from Barrick Australia
one year ago. A principal focus for Ivanhoe
now is to achieve producer status through
the re-launch of Osborne,” says the company’s
managing director Peter Reeve.
Osborne is about 50km from Mount Dore
and includes mining and processing facilities
from a recently operating copper and gold
mine. It is currently under care and maintenance.
During 2011 Ivanhoe implemented a
$30 million capital development program for
the Osborne and Kulthor underground resources.
The measured and indicated mineral
resources total 13.1 million tonnes @ 1.4%
copper and 0.9 grams/tonne gold while inferred
mineral resources total 7.9 million tonnes
@ 1.3% copper and 1.0 grams/tonne gold.
Ivanhoe is targeting a mine life of up to 20
years, with a number of prospects identified as
potential ore sources across the company’s
tenements. Ore supply for the initial four year
mine plan is to be sourced from the Osborne,
Starra 276 and Kulthor underground mines.
The company also plans to start processing
molybdenum/rhenium ore from its Merlin deposit
at the Osborne processing facility.
Ore will be treated at the existing processing
facility with annually capacity of 2 million tonne.
Ivanhoe expects to annually produce 21,000
tonnes of copper and 34,000 ounces of gold.
The company has also started an underground
drilling program in a bid to extend the Osborne
and Kulthor resources. Drill holes will test for
significant extensions of the Osborne Deeps
mineralization immediately north of the planned
mining area and existing decline, where recent
interpretations allow for a steep body of mineralization
to exist and where no previous
drilling has been undertaken.
At Kulthor, the underground drilling program
will define stoping blocks within the known resource.
A surface drilling program to test the
southwest strike and down-plunge extension
of the Kulthor mineralization at depth and outside
the known resource began in late 2011.
Exploration is focused on a number of
highly prospective target areas, with the goal
of extending the mine plan of the Osborne
project beyond the initial four years detailed
in the copper-gold study. The initial target is
to identify additional ore sources around the
existing complex.
The concentrator at the mill of Ivanhoe Australia’s Osborne
project.
24 | ASIA Miner | January/February 2012