Krakatoa Resources Ltd (ASX:KTA) has started a first-phase aircore drilling program at Sugarloaf porphyry copper-gold target within the Belgravia Project in the Lachlan Fold Belt of NSW.
Sugarloaf is around seven kilometres southeast of the Copper Hill deposit that hosts 890,000 ounces of gold and 310,000 tonnes of copper and is within a prolific copper and gold producing region.
The current work program will comprise approximately 40 aircore (AC) drill holes to blade refusal depth and 700 soil sampling sites.
Krakatoa has identified targets using a deep ground penetration radar (DGPR) survey, soil geochemistry and magnetic inversion data.
It has secured land access for the maiden AC drilling at the target following a period of extensive negotiations.
“Delighted to have access”
Krakatoa's CEO Mark Major said: “We are extremely delighted to have conditional access to the Sugarloaf land to undertake the initial aircore drilling and test the shallow geological features and other areas of interest.
“This drilling, along with the expansion of the soil survey will assist with the deeper porphyry vectoring.
“Cultural features have limited the use of electrical geophysics practices so the use of DGPR in conjunction with soil geochemistry, 3D magnetic inversion modelling, along with the high-grade rock chips geochemistry has enhanced our targeting over this project.
“The AC drilling will test the weathered basement interface which will enable better vectoring of the proposed deeper porphyry drilling and potentially highlighting areas where mesothermal or skarn related systems may be present closer to the surface."
The drilling
The company has initiated shallow drilling to test the near-surface expression of:
- A distinctive magnetic feature characteristic of a porphyry-style deposit;
- Areas with anomalous soil geochemistry and rock chips grading up to 5.19 g/t gold and 1.73% copper;
- Significant interpreted structures with broad demagnetised alteration zones; and
- Areas of mapped alteration coincident with a previously identified NE-trending linear feature.
Sugarloaf target
Krakatoa has interpreted Sugarloaf as potentially representing a porphyry intrusion underlying the geophysical anomaly’s centre with potential skarn mineralisation preferentially developed along with the faulted northwest contact.
Sugarloaf is also considered prospective for mesothermal vein gold deposits on splays to several significant faults and epithermal gold-silver and contact-metasomatic (skarn and other carbonate-replacement styles) gold-base metals deposits.
Belgravia Project
Krakatoa’s 100% owned Belgravia Copper-Gold Porphyry Project covers 80 square kilometres and is in the central part of the Molong Volcanic Belt (MVB), East Lachlan province, between Newcrest Mining Ltd’s (ASX:NCM) Cadia Operations and Alkane Resources Ltd’s (ASX:ALK) Boda Discovery.
The project target areas are considered highly prospective for porphyry copper-gold and associated skarn copper-gold, with Bell Valley and Sugarloaf representing the two most advanced target areas.
Bell Valley contains a considerable portion of the Copper Hill Intrusive Complex, the interpreted porphyry complex which hosts the copper.
On completion and review of the AC drilling and soil programs, the company will determine target zones for deeper drilling.