PNX Metals Ltd’s (ASX:PNX) drilling has intersected zinc mineralisation in a number of holes outside the existing resource at its Hayes Creek zinc-gold-silver project in the Northern Territory.
The company’s definite feasibility study (DFS) drill program has been completed with the assays due early 2018 and a resource estimate to be updated shortly thereafter.
PNX is planning to undertake a significant amount of technical work over the wet season to prepare the DFS and Environmental Impact Statement.
READ: PNX Metals crosses a milestone at Hayes Creek zinc-gold-silver project
James Fox, managing director, said: “The Hayes Creek DFS drill program has been a great success, particularly in terms of identifying potential to increase feed to the proposed Process Plant from Mt Bonnie.
“The intersection of massive sulphides below the existing pit design and outside of the existing resource area bodes well for providing incremental growth to the initial 6.5 year mine life modelled for the Hayes Creek Project, and is expected to have a positive flow through effect on the already strong project economics.”
Massive sulphides intersected below the existing pit design
PNX drilled zinc (sphalerite) rich massive sulphide mineralisation in at least 10 holes, with new mineralisation intersected beneath the existing pit design and outside of the current resource boundary.
The significance of these results is that they may extend the pit design further south and at depth providing an increase in the feed to the proposed process plant.
Moreover, PNX can potentially reduce the open-pit strip ratio by identifying mineralisation in what was previously assumed to be waste rock.
Moline Project zinc exploration
The Moline Project is located circa 65 kilometres to the east of Hayes Creek in the Pine Creek region of the Northern Territory.
READ: PNX Metals confirms three large zinc targets at the Moline Project
Due to a combination of equipment breakdown and wet season rains making some areas impassable, the planned drill program at the Moline Project was not completed.
The drilling at Moline has been deferred until after the wet season in Q1 2018.