Rimfire Pacific Mining NL (ASX:RIM) intends to drill at its projects near Fifield in Central West NSW to test for large-scale copper-gold and gold mineralisation.
A reverse circulation (RC) program is planned for the Northern Gold prospect while aircore drilling is proposed for the Northern and Southern area projects.
Subject to the finalisation of permitting, land access, funding and final engagement with drilling contractors, the programs are expected to start in the September quarter of 2019.
Testing of these areas will allow the company to obtain bedrock samples for assessment of rock type, rock textures, mineral alteration assemblages and geochemistry.
READ: Rimfire welcomes Emmerson Resources porphyry copper-style discovery
Rimfire managing director Craig Riley said: “The opportunity to undertake an RC drilling program at the Northern Gold prospect is very exciting as there is no record of any previous bedrock drilling.
“The recent auger work at Northern Gold indicates the gold is not present in alluvial gravels above the bedrock."
At Northern Gold prospect an extensive area of shallow historical gold workings cover 350 metres in strike length by 80 metres in what is interpreted as a gravel filled poorly formed valley.
READ: Rimfire will further test gold potential at Northern Gold prospect
Results of exploration in April 2019 indicate anomalous gold within the weathered bedrock below the gravels.
Historical workings across the area are thought to have been targeting coarse gold accumulations within the highly weathered bedrock at the base of the infilling gravels.
At the Northern and Southern areas, a review of geological and geophysical datasets indicates these areas are blocks of older Ordovician rocks that were previously interpreted as younger Siluro-Devonian age.
This is ‘significant’ as the district's major world-class porphyry-style deposits of the Cadia Complex are hosted in Ordovician age volcanics.
READ: Rimfire completes aircore and auger drilling around Sorpresa resource at Fifield
A group of Chinese investors including Dr Jun Ding, a highly regarded Chinese geologist who was a former Regional Province Geological Survey Head of Department for five provinces, recently visited the Fifield site.
Dr Ding visited the site to provide input on Rimfire’s exploration projects at Northern Gold, Northern Area and Southern Area and provided positive feedback on the quality of technical work and potential of the work programs that the company is executing to achieve successful outcomes.
He shares the view that Rimfire’s drilling plans are the best approach for testing the Northern and Southern Areas for large-scale Northparkes-style (copper/gold) or Cowal-style (gold) mineralisation along with the drilling program to assess the Northern Gold prospect.
Riley added: “The company is now looking forward to the next phase of fieldwork with excitement and the opinions expressed by the highly respected geologist Dr Ding during the recent site visit supports the quality of technical interpretations and target testing strategies.”