Celsius Resources Ltd (ASX:CLA) has revealed an updated mineral resource estimate (MRE) for the MCB Copper-Gold Project on the island of Luzon in the Philippines, held under its Philippine subsidiary company, Makilala Mining Co. Inc (MMCI).
The revised global mineral resource now sits at 338 million tonnes at 0.47% copper and 0.12 g/t gold reported to a preferred lower cut-off grade of 0.2% copper, consisting of 1.6 million tonnes of contained copper and 1.3 million ounces of contained gold.
High-grade core
Significantly, a high-grade core sits at 77 million tonnes at 0.82% copper and 0.27 g/t gold in the measured and indicated category, with a 0.5% copper cut-off.
Drilling the company conducted during 2021 and 2022 was all within the boundaries of the maiden mineral resource estimate for MCB.
Shallow drilling better defined the high-grade sections of the resource and allowed for an increase in the confidence level to the measured category, in addition to a refinement of the boundaries to the mineral resource.
Continuity of copper
The most substantial effect of the drilling results was the inclusion of a ‘measured’ component to the MRE, which confirmed the continuity of the copper mineralisation at key locations throughout the MRE through infill drilling.
In turn, infill drilling enabled better definition of the boundaries to the overall copper mineralisation at MCB, in addition to specific locations which were tested to confirm the orientation and continuity of the internal higher-grade copper mineralisation.
More recent diamond drilling at MCB has identified some shallow high-grade copper mineralisation not previously defined from the earlier drilling programs.
The impact of this additional copper mineralisation was significant at shallow levels, as defined by an increase in the copper content at higher cut-off grades and tighter definition of the higher-grade material.
Refined mine plan
The work the company has done to get to this point will allow for a more refined mine plan as part of the proposed feasibility study work scheduled for 2023.
Executive director Peter Hume said: “The focus of the more recent drilling effort has been to define the shallow high-grade sections of the mineral resource at MCB.
“These results are reflected in the updated mineral resource, particularly within the shallow measured and indicated portion of the mineral resource, providing for an improved grade which will help to drive key outcomes for the upcoming feasibility study work in 2023.
“As we continue to define the high-grade sections at shallow levels, we will be able to refine the direction to greater depths of these positions. This will in turn aid the future drilling effort, which we believe will ultimately improve the global mineral resource as soon as we can turn our attention to testing the deeper extensions.”