Red River Resources Limited (ASX:RVR) is confident of rich rewards when it starts mining operations at Liontown, part of its Thalanga Operation in Queensland, in 2022, and this optimism is supported by new drill results of up to 20.2% zinc equivalent.
Liontown is being developed as Red River's third mine at Thalanga.
The company has returned some impressive zinc equivalent results in sulphide in five drill holes during its ongoing multi-target reverse circulation (RC) drilling program at Gap Lode prospect:
- 1-metre at 20.2% zinc equivalent from 122 metres, 4 metres 4.5% from 111 metres and 2 metres at 5.4% from 67 metres in LLRC196;
- 6 metres at 11.1% from 105 metres in LLRC206;
- 12 metres at 4.7% from 153 metres in LLRC197;
- 1-metre at 3.2% from 140 metres in LLRC205.
There was also a strong oxide intercept of 2 metres at 7.5 g/t gold from 11 metres in LLRC193.
Gap sulphide infill drilling.
The Gap Lode currently contains an inferred sulphide mineral resource of 403,000 tonnes at 1.7% copper, 0.8% lead, 1.9% zinc, 3.5 g/t gold and 12 g/t silver for 15.3% zinc equivalent.
RVR will complete further drilling in the Gap area over the next 12 months, including six diamond tails from the completed RC pre-collars and an additional eight diamond holes, which will narrow the drill spacing to 60 metres in the centre of the current Gap resource and support the development of underground drill platforms early in the life of the underground operation.
Gap Lode RC drilling results
Red River’s reverse circulation (RC) drilling in the Gap area continues to discover high-grade copper and gold mineralisation with lead and zinc associations.
The company will be looking further into holes LLRC196 and LLRC197, where it has encountered multiple mineralised lodes and will continue to investigate the continuity of these lodes and their place in the greater mineralising system.
Water was encountered in hole LLRC187 and unfortunately, insufficient sample return was achieved through what appeared to be a broad mineralised lode intersection. Six other RC holes located to the east and at depth encountered water early and were paused to be used as pre-collars for diamond drilling.
Future for Liontown
The company plans to add Liontown to its stable of deposits at Thalanga and is focused on an open pit and underground development with a conceptual mine life of more than 10 years.
The Liontown Project is 32 kilometres in a direct line from its Thalanga Operations and 107 kilometres by road. The results of the current drilling program present the opportunity for further expansion between the Liontown and Liontown East deposits.
Red River reported in March 2020 that the total mineral resource in the area is 4.1 million tonnes at 0.6% copper, 1.9% lead, 5.9% zinc, 1.1 g/t gold and 29 g/t silver (12.7% zinc equivalent) and a shallow oxide gold mineral resource of 113,000 tonnes at 1.9 g/t gold and 24 g/t silver.
Promising geological features
Liontown is a volcanogenic-hosted-massive-sulphide (VHMS) style deposit hosted within Cambro-Ordovician marine volcanic and volcano-sedimentary sequences of the Mt Windsor volcanic sub-province.
It has geological similarities to other well-known deposits in the region including the Liontown East, Waterloo and the operating Thalanga group deposits.
High-grade gold and copper mineralisation were historically mined from 1905-1911 as the Carrington Lode. The oxide zone of the New Queen was also historically mined with minor tonnages reported from 1951-1963.
Red River’s latest drilling results have bolstered its hopes for the Gap Lode mineral resource and the potential for oxide gold mineralisation above it.
The company will complete further delineation and extensional drilling at Liontown next year and test satellite targets nearby.
Further results are expected from the Liontown drill program by end of this year, gearing up for mining operations to start in 2022.
About Red River
Red River is building a multi-asset operating business focused on base and precious metals with the objective of delivering prosperity through lean and clever resource development.
RVR’s foundation asset is the Thalanga Base Metal Operation in Northern Queensland, which was acquired in 2014 and where RVR commenced copper, lead and zinc concentrate production in September 2017.