Emmerson Resources Limited (ASX:ERM) has confirmed more high-grade gold and copper drilling results from its Mauretania Project in the Northern Territory.
Re-assayed results from the upper, oxide zone of diamond drill hole MTDD006 returned:
- 15 metres at 2.28g/t gold from 57 metres;
- 1 metre at 5.75g/t gold and 1.39% copper from 76 metres; and
- 21 metres at 2.4g/t gold from 81 metres.
A new thick zone of copper and gold from diamond drill hole MTDD007 returned 22 metres at 0.84% copper, 0.04g/t gold and 5.2g/t silver from 88 metres including:
- 2 metres at 1.56% copper and 0.14g/t gold from 88 metres; and
- 2 metres at 3.11% copper from 108 metres.
Native copper in drill hole MTDD006.
Emmerson managing director Rob Bills said: “These latest results from Mauretania have established a very thick ~36m zone of gold a mere 57m below the surface.
“Furthermore, a new zone of shallow copper mineralisation that also points to the possibility of gold at depth remains untested.
“Particularly as the gold and copper mineralisation is open to the northwest, and that the typical metal zonation in these styles of deposits consist of primary gold beneath the copper.
“The coarse nature of the gold and poor to no recoveries of some samples in the oxide zone has likely underrepresented the true gold grades, particularly in comparison to adjacent drill holes which assayed 20 metres at 38.5g/t gold from 92m, including 4 metres at 158g/t gold.
“The thick intercepts of gold and now copper at shallow levels provides great encouragement that Mauretania will be a viable open cut mine – hence our successful application to the NT Government to convert the Exploration Lease into a Mining Lease.”
Location of Emmerson’s 100% owned package (blue) and assay results from the recently completed Mauretania drill program (yellow dot).
Mauretania is a green-fields discovery identified from recognising that high-grade gold and copper are associated with hematite ironstones that have largely gone undetected up until Emmerson’s entry in the Tennant Creek Mineral Field in 2008.
The hallmarks of Emmerson’s discoveries at Edna Beryl, Goanna, Monitor and now Mauretania include the exceptional grade of both copper and gold and their association with hematite dominant ironstones.
Next steps
The progression of the Mauretania discovery has highlighted the potential for repeats of this style of high-grade mineralisation within the Northern Project Area.
Emmerson continues to pursue several technical, commercial and processing avenues to fully capitalise on this.