Cooper Metals Ltd (ASX:CPM) has kicked off diamond drilling at the Brumby Ridge copper-gold prospect at the Mt Isa East Copper-Gold Project in northwest Queensland, following up on last year’s drill hits described as "spectacular".
Last year Cooper announced reverse circulation (RC) drill results from Brumby Ridge of up to 71 metres at 2.80% copper and 0.05 g/t gold from 115 metres. This included 24 metres at 5.37% copper and 0.10 g/t gold.
Cooper notes that, significantly, drill hole 23MERC028 finished in copper-gold mineralisation, with the last 3 metres to the end of hole averaging 1.88% copper and 0.04 g/t gold.
Five diamond holes
Drilling of five diamond drill holes for around 1,200 metres is underway ahead of planned further RC drilling to test the extent of the Brumby Ridge mineralisation.
The initial diamond drilling will consist of scissor holes (two holes drilled in opposite directions) to test width and dip of the mineralisation. Diamond holes will then be drilled along strike and possibly down dip as required.
With a view to save time and money, Cooper has drilled RC pre-collars into the overlying rock from around 40 to 90 metres deep to reach the mineralised target zone at various depths. Diamond tails will then be drilled through the mineralisation to determine its true width
The five-hole diamond drilling program is expected to take a few weeks, with assay results due from April onwards.
Planned RC drilling
The RC drilling — to test the extent of the Brumby Ridge mineralisation — is planned to begin once the diamond drilling round is complete. This will involve up to 2,000 metres of RC drilling to help ascertain the size and grade potential of the mineralisation.
Cooper Metals managing director Ian Warland said: “It’s great to be back out at Brumby Ridge again so early in the field season to follow up our spectacular drill hits from last year.
"The initial diamond holes are important for planning the rest of the follow-up RC and diamond holes in the coming weeks and months. We will provide further updates as results come to hand.”
IP results confirm string depth potential
Cooper also recently announced the results of the pole-dipole (PDP) induced polarisation results completed over the drill section containing drill hole 23MERC0281, which confirmed the strong depth potential indicated by the chargeability anomaly at Brumby Ridge.
The company said the chargeability anomaly matched the geology quite well, with the chargeability response a near vertically dipping chargeability anomaly that may represent a vertically dipping dome-shaped mineralised breccia which is consistent with RC drilling to date.