Australian Mines Ltd (ASX:AUZ) has begun drilling designed to test high-priority base metal targets at the Thackaringa project near Broken Hill in Far West NSW following an airborne Versatile Time Domain Electromagnetic (VTEM) survey.
The VTEM survey, commissioned by Australian Mines, was conducted over its entire Thackaringa project area in 2017 and revealed nine separate anomalies.
Of these anomalies, Target A1 and Target A5 in the northern section of the tenement were classified as high-priority targets by two separate and independent consulting firms, Mitre Geophysics and Newexco Exploration, who concluded these targets represent areas of potential base metal mineralisation that warrant follow-up drill testing.
This drill program is anticipated to take up to three weeks to complete
Target A1 first-up
A low-cost reverse circulation drilling program is underway at Target A1 to verify the presence of base metal mineralisation, which is expected to take up to three weeks.
Managing director Benjamin Bell said: “It is too early to speculate on what type of conductive source may be causing the high priority anomalies at Thackaringa.
“It is, however, important to continue with our drilling and exploration activity at this project, which is relatively low cost, as we look to unlock further value for our shareholders.”
The project’s proximity to the regional mining town of Broken Hill, where mining major BHP originated mining the supergiant Broken Hill lead-zinc-silver ore body, allows access to an established local mining culture and highly skilled workforce.
Maintaining Sconi focus
Bell said: “We are maintaining our focus on progressing our flagship Sconi Project to meet the huge demand for technology metals from the electric vehicle revolution and rapidly expanding energy storage industries.
“However, our longer-term strategy is all about maximising the value from each of our projects - Sconi, Flemington and Thackaringa, for the benefit of our shareholders and all our stakeholders.”