Conquest Mining's (ASX: CQT) is continuing successful exploration of its flagship Mt Carlton gold-silver-copper project near Townsville with additional drilling at V2 East, the eastern extension of the V2 deposit, tracing high-grade mineralisation eastward.
In addition, step-out drilling along the same trend has discovered a new zone of mineralisation, named the Far East prospect, located approximately 1 kilometre to the northeast of the V2 deposit.
Significant new high-grade results from the V2 East area include:
- 11.38m @ 6.77 g/t Au, 9.2 g/t Ag and 0.65% Cu (8.02 g/t Au eq) in hole HC10RCD963;
- 25.0m @ 3.29 g/t Au, 10 g/t Ag and 0.21% Cu (3.80 g/t Au eq) in hole HC10RCD971
including 6.0m @ 8.69 g/t Au, 27.0 g/t Ag and 0.64% Cu (10.19 g/t Au eq); and
The continuity, grade and strike extent of the V2 East mineralisation indicates that this area could add significant high-grade ore to the V2 mine schedule.
In addition, the identification of the northeast trending corridor appears to have unlocked an important host to mineralisation at Mt Carlton and could potentially lead to further discoveries.
The company has already commenced planning an extensive exploration program for the 2011 exploration season aimed at defining the scale of this new mineralisation.
The high-grade V2 East mineralisation is immediately east of the currently planned V2 open pit and has shown excellent continuity between drillholes and can be traced over a strike length of 200m.
The mineralisation occurs within a northeast trending corridor which is believed to represent a regional shear structure.
The Mt Carlton optimisation study, based on the previously defined JORC Resource, remains on schedule to be released prior to the end of this year and a development decision is expected in the December quarter of 2010.