Stewart R. Wallace — 1919–2009 - Society of Economic Geologists

JULY 2009 No 78 SEG NEWSLETTER 41
intersections including hole MDQ0119
(58 m @ 2.25% Mo, 29 g/t Rh and
0.09% Cu from 408 m, including 20 m
@ 6.26% Mo, 82 g/t Rh and 0.14% Cu)
in which a 5.4m interval consisting of
massive molybdenite enclosing sediment
clasts assayed 19.3% Mo and 253
g/t Rh! The deposit is hosted in a
sheared-fault breccia developed in black
shale and siltstone adjoining a granite,
and forms part of the cluster of the
Swan-Mt Elliott Cu-Au deposits which
Ivanhoe claims to be “the largest
announced IOCG system discovered in
Australia since Olympic Dam.”
Conceptually, the Merlin project is contemplated
as a high-grade operation
which would be mined via decline
access. The high value ore would be
processed via gravity concentration and
flotation to produce a molybdenum
concentrate containing rhenium.
Drilling by Ivanhoe at the nearby
Lanham’s Shaft prospect has confirmed
the discovery of a second Merlintype
system. Assays received for nine
recent holes showed good molybdenum
grades with encouraging copper, gold,
rhenium and uranium, with a best
intersection of 34 m @ 0.74% Mo, 3 g/t
Re, 0.43 % Cu, 0.37 g/t Au and 232
ppm U from 143 m.
Icon Resources is has purchased the
mothballed Mt. Carbine tungsten mine
inland from Cairns, and has an option
to acquire the processing plant from the
nearby MetalsX Collingwood tin project
to use at Mt Carbine. The company
has brought in the Polymetals Group
to develop and operate the Mt Carbine
tailings re-treatment project, allowing
Icon to concentrate on the redevelopment
of the Mt Carbine hardrock mining
operation.
Wide-spaced soil sampling and geologic
mapping by D’Aguilar Gold has
located zones anomalous in chrome,
nickel, and platinum over a strike
length of about 4 km, near the Mimosa
chromite prospect, about 35 km south
of Mundubbera. The mineralization can
be recognised as zones of massive
chromite rubble within the soil, typically
400 m long and 10 m wide. The
prospect includes some historical diggings
within Devonian basaltic volcanics
and limestones, and tectonically
emplaced serpentinite and ultramafics.
Diatreme Resources has completed
a 3-D induced polarization survey at
the Rosevale Corridor, located 15 km
SW of Clermont. The survey identified
eight high priority drill targets that may
represent porphyry-style copper-molybdenum
systems. A deep diamond
drilling program has commenced.
Exploration drilling at Cracow (New -
crest Mining, 70% and Lion Selection,
30%) continued to focus on a new gold
ore shoot 100 m south of the Kilkenny
resource. Seven holes were recently completed
defining mineralization over a
200 × 150 m area with best intersections
of 12.8 m (6 m true width) @ 14.2 g/t Au
and 5.5 m (2.9 m true width) @ 3.7 g/t
Au.
NEW SOUTH WALES
Cortona Resources has enjoyed continued
success at its Majors Creek gold
project located east of Canberra. The
latest assays from recent drilling include
positive results from Plums Lode and
Hangingwall Lode, and the discovery
of high-grade gold mineralization
southwest of Dargues Reef, each of
which highlights the potential for significant
expansion to the Dargues Reef
resource, which currently stands at 1.44
Mt @ 6.2 g/t Au for 286 koz Au. The latest
results include a broad, high grade
intercept of 20 m @ 6 g/t Au from 158
m in the Plum Lode. The last hole of the
drill program swung appreciably at
depth and failed to reach its planned
target. But all was not lost as it did
intersect a lode of previously unrecognized
high-grade gold mineralization (4
m @ 28.0 g/t Au), from 78 m downhole !
The Drake polymetallic mineral field
in the New England orogen hosts Rex
Minerals’ Mt Carrington gold-silver
project, where recent drilling programs
have been conducted at the Strauss,
Guy Bell and Lady Hampden gold
deposits. Best intersections were 20 m @
2.1 g/t Au and 16 m @ 4.3 g/t Au
(Strauss), and 4 m @ 10.8 g/t Au (Guy
Bell). In addition, high-grade copper-silver
mineralization has been discovered
near the Kylo gold resource, with best
intersections of 18.7 m @ 5.9% Cu, 10.1
m @ 6.3% Cu, and 9 m @ 290 g/t Ag.
Goldminco has announced an
update to the mineral resources at their
Discovery Ridge gold project, where
recent drilling has discovered a western
lens. The Discovery Ridge resource has
increased by 41% in contained ounces
to 508Koz Au at a 0.5g/t Au cut-off
grade, while a maiden resource was
announced for Bald Hill of 37 Mt @ 0.5
g/t Au for 596 koz Au at a 0.3 g/t Au
cutoff grade.
VICTORIA
Northgate Minerals has continued
aggressive near-mine exploration at the
operating Fosterville and Stawell gold
mines, respectively in central and western
Victoria. At Stawell, two new mineralized
zones were discovered close to
current underground workings, with
grades between 6.9 g/t Au and 18.1g/t
Au over true thickness of approximately
5 m for each zone. Resource definition
drilling of these zones is currently
underway.
Goldsearch has continued explora -
tion at the Mount Wellington project
in eastern Victoria. For the Hill 800
prospect, the company announced the
inferred resource of 1.1Mt @ 1.5g/t Au,
based on drilling completed in late
1990s. At the Rhyolite Creek prospect,
a follow-up drilling program was completed
to test the lateral extent of a previously
discovered mineralized shear
zone (5.6 m @ 2 g/t Au, 34 g/t Ag and
4.7% Zn from 220 m). One hole, partially
funded by the Rediscover Victoria
initiative of the Victorian government,
intersected the mineralized zone 300 m
from the nearest intercept, with the best
result of 2.6 m @ 2 g/t Au and 13 g/t Ag
from 178m.
Synergy Metals has announced an
inferred resource of 0.3 Mt @ 7 g/t Au
and 11 g/t Ag at the Glen Wills project
in eastern Victoria. This resource is in
addition to the inferred resource of 0.1
Mt @ 2.6 g/t Au in tailings at Glen
Wills and the previously announced
inferred resource of 80 kt @ 7g/t Au at
the Sunnyside prospect, 5 km away.
TASMANIA
Bass Metals has announced high-grade
intersections below the northern end of
the P-Q pit at the Que River mine in
the Mt Read Volcanics. Better results
include 6.6 m @ 4.0 g/t Au, 465 g/t Ag,
24.2% Zn, 11.6% Pb and 0.7% Cu, and
7.9 m @ 5.1 g/t Au, 250 g/t Ag, 18.8%
Zn, 10.3% Pb, and 0.5% Cu. The company
also expects to complete a feasibility
study into mining the Hellyer
remnants and Fossey zone in mid-2009.
A five-year mine life with a throughput
of 250 to 400 kt per annum is under
consideration for the project.
Metals X has reported several high
grade tin intersections into the Federal
zone at their carbonate replacement
Renison Bell mine, including 10.9 m @
4.45% Sn, 4.05m @ 9.43% Sn and 5.7 m
@ 5.04% Sn.
Proto Resources has announced further
intersections of lateritic nickel-cobalt
mineralization, including 9m @ 1.7%
Ni and 0.07% Co, and iron mineralization,
including 16 m of 43.1% Fe at their
Barnes Hill project north of Launceston.
The company has also announced that
it expects the final phase of the Barnes
Hill feasibility study to be completed
by the second
to page
quarter of 2010.
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