Duke Exploration Ltd (ASX:DEX) has kickstarted diamond drilling at its flagship Bundarra copper camp at the heart of Queensland’s Bowen Basin.
The base metal explorer plans to drill five holes covering 880 metres during the campaign.
Ultimately, the program is designed to test a series of high-priority targets at the copper project, based on previous data gleaned from the Quorn, Rogers and Isens targets.
By drilling roughly 18 metres per day, Duke’s campaign should wrap up mid-next month, while visual results should start to become available in the next few weeks and definitive assays should come through in early 2022.
The campaign will be followed by grid exploration reverse circulation (RC) drilling, which will be constrained by the interpreted geometry and control on the copper, silver and gold mineralisation derived from the logging and analysis of the diamond drilling.
“A step forward” for resource strategy
Duke managing director Philip Condon said: “The commencement of diamond drilling in the southwest corner of the Bundarra pluton is a significant step in the Duke Exploration strategy of expanded and accelerated resource development.
“This drilling will provide important information not only on grades and widths but critically in a wider context, it will confirm our geological model is consistent and repeatable.
“That confirmation will then allow us to confidently and reliably predict the quality and quantity of the many mineralised locations around the whole of the Bundarra project.
“These locations can then be prioritised for resource development in quarter one of 2022.
“The overall goal of the strategy is to develop maximum resources rapidly, reliably and cost-effectively, towards the ultimate goal of a viable copper mining operation at Bundarra.
“The diamond drilling is the next stage of this very exciting phase of our Bundarra copper and silver resource development program.”
Diamond drilling underway
Duke’s campaign officially kicked off on November 4, when the diamond drill rig began its first cut at the Queensland copper play.
One hole will be drilled at the Quorn target, three will be executed at Rogers and one hole will be completed at the Isens prospect.
In late July, Duke tested the Quorn target during its first exploration scout drilling program.
Four exploration holes and one water bore hole were drilled, all of which intersected copper, silver and gold mineralisation.
Highlights include:
- 4 metres at 2.66% copper, 4.51 g/t silver and 0.54 g/t gold from 199 metres;
- 11 metres at 1.04% copper, 14.70 g/t silver and 0.07 g/t gold from 122 metres;
- 27 metres at 0.58% copper, 14.86 g/t silver and 0.05 g/t gold from 26 metres; and
- 5 metres at 0.28% copper, 6.24 g/t silver and 0.01 g/t gold from 41 metres.
Further exploration comes as Duke seeks to build on Bundarra’s copper potential.
Its most advanced target, the Mt Flora prospect, was the subject of a maiden mineral resource estimate (MRE) in late June.
Based on the MRE, Mt Flora is reported to host 78,000 tonnes of copper and 3.6 million ounces of silver.
Next on the cards
As Duke advances exploration at its flagship project, it has already put together a forward work program to inform its exploration in the months to come.
Some of the key activities include:
- Start scout RC drilling to determine the highest priority target for resource development drilling;
- Finalise the timing of step-out, extension RC resource drilling at the Mt Flora resource to test the new mineralisation discovered to the north;
- Continue accelerated pXRF soil sampling, to be completed by the end of the year, in a bid to sample the entire Bundarra Pluton and help prioritise resource development work; and
- Accelerate and extend electrical geophysical data collection over the entire Bundarra Pluton.
Outside of Bundarra, Duke is also investigating the precious metal potential of its Prairie Creek gold camp, situated near Rockhampton in the Sunshine State.
Here, the company hopes to provide all exploration diamond drilling assay results from a recent drilling program in the coming weeks.
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