Promising copper/gold discovery near Mt Isa

The syndicate says the discovery hole encountered 49 metres of 1.5% chalcopyrite with a gold credit of 0.3gt au.

Due to confines of access the RC rig was swung around to scissor the discovery hole and encountered a further 20 metres grading 1.19% cu.

“The first two holes indicate an orebody near 70 metres wide and we have only just scratched the surface of the 600 metre strike length,” Don Hoult, one of the three member syndicate, said this week.

A third step-out hole resulted in 48 metres of 1.23% copper while the fourth encountered two horizons   the upper of 20 metres of 0.81% copper and the bottom 21 metres of 2.1%. Within this 21 metre section chalcopyrite assayed up to 11%.

Unlike the deeply weathered oxidised occurrences common to the Mt Isa region, Hoult says the discovery is a unique primary system assaying 1% cu+ sulphide commencing within a few metres of the surface.

“There’s no doubt we have discovered something of real potential and significance,” explained Hoult.

“And no, we just didn’t stumble on it recently. It was brought to my attention by another syndicate member, Geoff Mayers, in 1970 when I was the principal of a small listed exploration company, Tasman Minerals.

“A series of shallow diamond holes at the time indicated it was a large sulphide system which attracted the immediate attention of the American mining company, Texas Gulf Sulphur. However, Rex Connors the responsible minister in the Whitlam government would not countenance the proposed agreement.

“‘I don’t want any bloody American company coming in and stealing our assets,’ was the verbatim quote Connors gave for knocking back the proposed deal”, Hoult said.

Ron Croft, the third member of the syndicate, is the owner of West Leichhardt Station on whose property the discovery is located.

Hoult said the three syndicate members had always believed the leases contained a potentially major discovery.

“Any number of geologists and companies have walked over the project since 1970, but none could visualise what was apparent to us. The only way to prove or disprove our theory was to drill it ourselves, so that’s what we did,” said Hoult.

“We decided to site the latest series of holes because we considered the earlier drilling, while indicative of the potential, had missed the target. Now four holes and four major intersections have proven us correct in our assumptions.

“What is the potential size of what we have discovered? We don’t have a clue, but clearly we have touched the edges of something quite unique.

“It’s clear that it’s too big for us to advance any further. It requires the involvement of a company to mount a concentrated drilling program.”

Hoult said as far as he was aware the only other pure sulphide copper system with similar geology in the Mt Isa region has massive chimneys sitting atop of it at present.
Contact: Don Hoult, tel 0418-193894, email: Don@bizeep.com