Impact Minerals (ASX:IPT) has identified potential for cobalt mineralisation after reviewing data from its 100% owned Broken Hill Project in New South Wales.
The review showed that Impact’s ground is prospective for three different styles of cobalt mineralisation including the mineral featuring as a by-product and as a standalone resource.
Firstly, cobalt associated with high grade nickel-copper-PGM mineralisation, secondly, pyrite-cobalt deposits, and thirdly, cobalt commonly associated with copper in ironstones.
Exploration for cobalt will be integrated into Impact’s program of work for the other styles of mineralisation for which the licences are prospective.
All data, including the electromagnetic survey due to commence next week at the Broken Hill Project, will be integrated to identify priority areas for follow up work including drilling.
Broken Hill project
The Broken Hill project covers 517 square kilometres of ground close to and south of the large-scale Broken Hill lead-zinc-silver mine in New South Wales.
The project is prospective for deposits of nickel, copper and platinum group minerals (PGMs) as well as lead, zinc and silver.
Impact’s focus has been on the discovery of massive nickel-copper sulphides at the Red Hill, Platinum Springs and Little Darling Creek prospects.
To that aim a helicopter borne electromagnetic survey is scheduled to commence next week to cover 25 kilometres of strike of ultramafic-mafic rocks that host the mineralisation discovered to date.
A total of 350 line kilometres of flying will be completed with results expected by early April.
Red Hill and Platinum Springs hosts cobalt
Previous drilling that discovered high grade nickel-copper-PGM at the Red Hill and Platinum Springs prospect, although not reported at the time, contains cobalt mineralisation.
Intersections of cobalt include:
- 1.2 metres at 0.5% cobalt;
- 1.9 metres at 0.1% cobalt;
- 5.2 metres at 0.06% cobalt;
- 1.6 metres at 0.013% cobalt; and
- 0.6 metres at 0.016% cobalt.
Cobalt mineralisation in the Broken Hill area is also associated with various types of ironstone and variably with copper and sometimes gold.
Four target areas for these styles of mineralisation have been identified from the previous exploration data in the north east part of Impact’s licences.
Standalone cobalt potential
Although the Broken Hill region of New South Wales Australia is well known for its silver-lead-zinc mineralisation, it is also well endowed with extensive cobalt mineralisation including the Thackaringa Cobalt Project.
Thackaringa is located 25 kilometres west of Broken Hill and about 3 to 5 kilometres west of Impacts extensive tenement holdings.
Cobalt Blue Holdings’ (ASX:COB) Thackaringa deposit is one of the world’s largest undeveloped cobalt resources.