Corazon Mining Ltd (ASX:CZN, OTC:CRZNF) has defined a new, large-scale, high-priority porphyry copper-gold target at its Mt Gilmore Project in northern New South Wales.
The new target, May Queen, lies adjacent to the historically identified May Queen copper-magnetite skarn deposit and is a significant feature of around 2-kilometres in strike, in the northern extent of the Mt Gilmore Trend.
May Queen features mineral chemistry analogous with other giant porphyry copper-gold deposits in NSW – a Tier-1 location for larger porphyry copper deposits.
Defined by Corazon, the Mt Gilmore Trend is a copper-cobalt gold trend in excess of 20 kilometres in length, and prospective for intrusion-related copper-gold deposits.
Mt Gilmore Project interpreted geology with a copper in soils geochemical image over the sedimentary/volcaniclastic basement rocks, with mineral occurrences and prospect locations.
Large, regional-scale and complex geochemical anomalies like Mt Gilmore are well suited to mineral chemistry targeting programs, rather than conventional geophysics and blind drilling.
CODES/UTAS geochemical program
The Centre for Ore Deposit and Earth Sciences (CODES) at the University of Tasmania (UTAS) undertook a significant geochemical program at Mt Gilmore to define higher confidence drill targets.
CODES completed two mineral chemistry sampling and analysis programs within the Mt Gilmore Trend. The first phase of the program identified that key mineral chemical characteristics of large porphyry copper-gold deposits are present at Mt Gilmore.
The second phase involved a more detailed study of the project’s mineral chemistry characteristics and has defined the high-priority May Queen drill target.
Mapping has identified favourable hydrothermal alteration and sulphide mineralisation at surface at May Queen. This is supported by strong copper-in-soil anomalism and encouraging geophysical features, such as a magnetic halo (rim) and an induced polarisation (IP) chargeability high.
May Queen target characteristics – (a) Aeromagnetic plan image, (b) Copper in soils geochemical plan image and (c) IP chargeability cross-sectional image.
Corazon says this development “represents a highly positive outcome of CODES/UTAS’s work at the Mt Gilmore Project and has validated Corazon’s porphyry copper-gold exploration model at the project”.
Next steps
Given the success of the CODES/UTAS geochemical targeting program in establishing May Queen as a high-priority target, Corazon has started planning a maiden drilling program.
As a first step in the drill planning process, the company will seek to engage with landowners in the project area and with regional stakeholders.
The company plans to commence drilling at the May Queen target as a key priority once all required drilling approvals are granted.
“A great success”
“The results of our body of work with CODES at UTAS has been a great success for the company, and our exploration of the Mt Gilmore Project," said Corazon managing director Brett Smith.
"The geochemical targeting work undertaken by CODES has helped to define strong drill targets in a complex geochemical environment.
“Porphyry copper-gold systems typically have large footprints and it can take a significant amount of drilling to identify the best areas to focus on. We’re hoping the targeting process completed has mitigated the need to do this.
“Mt Gilmore displays many characteristics typical of large porphyry copper systems, and the outcomes of the work by CODES has helped define what is interpreted as a high-priority drill target at the May Queen prospect. Drilling of the May Queen will now be a high-order priority for the company.”
More on May Queen target
The underexplored May Queen prospect lies at the northern end of the defined Mt Gilmore Trend. It is around 6.5 kilometres northwest of the Gordonbrook Hill Prospect, which was subject to Corazon’s most recent drilling, and 15 kilometres northwest of the drill-defined Cobalt Ridge Prospect to the south.
The May Queen porphyry copper-gold target is centred on a strong copper anomaly, with a coincident moderate to strong IP chargeability geophysical anomaly, covering an area of around 400 metres in diameter.
High IP chargeability anomalism is typically indicative of disseminated sulphides, consistent with the fine-grained disseminated pyrite (iron), chalcopyrite (copper) and malachite (copper) minerals observed in mapping. This target occurs about 500 metres to the east of the mineralised May Queen Skarn outcrop.
The strong copper in soils geochemical anomalism and IP chargeability high anomalism is also coincident with a geophysical magnetic-low, bounded by a magnetic-high rim. This relationship is common in these systems.
A fertility assessment, which is a strong indicator of the likelihood of the presence of a porphyry copper-gold deposit, of minerals including epidote, chlorite, zircon, tourmaline, etc., indicate that the May Queen Prospect may host large-to-giant porphyry copper deposits.
This analysis has been overlaid with similar data from the major Northparkes Copper-Gold Project in NSW. There is significant overlap of the mineral chemistry, supporting the conclusions that May Queen has potential for porphyry copper-gold deposits, up to and including the giant category.