Rumble Resources Ltd (ASX:RTR)’s ongoing scoping drilling at the Earaheedy Project has revealed a major feeder fault zone with significant zinc-lead-silver mineralisation along with strong copper at the Chinook Prospect.
Discovering copper and silver in a northwest-trending 1.7-kilometre-long feeder fault zone at Chinook supports the interpretation of metal zonation within the Earaheedy Project area, with copper reflecting the “hotter” portion of the system.
The potential for deeper large-scale copper-zinc-lead-silver deposits below the extensive unconformity style mineralisation is high, underlining the Earaheedy Project’s world-class base metal credentials.
In a further boost for RTR, the first round of drilling at Navajoh Prospect has delineated significant flat-lying unconformity style zinc-lead-silver mineralisation similar to the Chinook and Tonka discoveries.
World-class base metal system
Rumble Resources technical director Brett Keillor said: “The discovery of significant copper (>1%) with silver mineralisation at the top of a major feeder fault system along with high-grade zinc and lead (up to 17.1% zinc + lead (EHRC136)) at Chinook highlights the potential for a very large scale zoned base metal system.
“The copper mineralisation supports the evolving geology and ore deposition model with respect to feeder fault zones reflecting higher depositional temperatures.
“Ultimately, the flat-lying regionally extensive unconformity related zinc-lead-silver (manganese) mineralisation that Rumble has delineated at the Chinook, Tonka and now Navajoh prospects potentially represents the large outer metal halo zone(s) of a world-class base metal system that lies within the Earaheedy Project and underlying geological formations.”
Shares were up as much as 9.6% to an intraday high of A$0.40 while RTR's market cap is approximately A$232.58 million.
Major feeder fault discovery
Ongoing scoping drilling at Chinook has delineated the top of a large-scale sub-vertical feeder fault close to the Lockeridge Fault System.
EHRC136 intersected a broad zone of mineralisation (84 metres at 1.84% zinc + lead from 151 metres – mineralised section), with the highlight of 37 metres at 3.25% zinc + lead and 7.18 g/t silver from 196 metres including 10 metres at 6.57% zinc + lead and 16.24 g/t silver from 200 metres with 1-metre at 17.1% zinc + lead and 20.9 g/t silver from 202 metres.
This hole also included 4 metres at 1.54% copper, 6.1% zinc + lead and 23.6 g/t silver from 204 metres, 16 metres at 2.54% zinc + lead, 4.80 g/t silver from 214 metres and 1-metre at 5.08% zinc + lead, and 10.4 g/t silver from 234 metres to the end of hole.
Drill hole EHRC136 is the first hole to intersect highly significant >1% copper in association with zinc, lead and silver mineralisation.
The copper mineralisation is chalcopyrite and chalcocite.
Upon the grant of Rumble’s 100%-owned contiguous exploration licence ELA 69/3787, drilling is planned northwest and west along strike from E69/3464 towards to the Sweetwater Prospect, opening up a further 12 kilometres of strike.
Diamond core drilling has started at Chinook and the recent discovery at Tonka, with the aim of delineating the structural and geological controls of the flat northeast dipping unconformity related and potential high angle feeder fault zones.
Navajoh prospect
The first round of RC drilling results at Navajoh include:
➢ 5 metres at 6.38% zinc + lead, 6.3 g/t silver from 123 metres;
➢ 3 metres at 6.15% zinc + lead, 10.63 g/t silver from 132 metres;
➢ 4 metres at 4.18% zinc + lead, 3.57 g/t silver from 106 metres; and
➢ 9 metres at 2.75% zinc + lead, 2.71 g/t silver from 157 metres.
Earaheedy Project
As the footprint of the Earaheedy zinc-lead-silver-manganese system expands, new styles of mineralisation are being discovered.
With the delineation of significant copper mineralisation at Chinook, sericite alteration has been noted, which indicates an increase in the metal deposition temperature near and proximal to the feeder faults.
Silver is also increasing with cobalt and arsenic being elevated.
The presence of significant copper emphasises the metal zonation that is characteristic of large-scale base metal systems and implies the extensive zinc-lead-silver-manganese mineralisation defined by Rumble to date is the proximal metal zone to a potentially deeper copper-zinc-lead-silver source.
Exploration program
The ongoing drilling program has now been expanded to more than 50,000 metres, primarily to further drill and scope the Tonka discovery zone.
Drilling is nearing completion for the 2021 season with this announcement reporting on the results of 90 holes for 13,959 metres.
Assay results returned for the current program are now for 28,144 metres of drilling .
The final sets of drilling results are expected by February-March next year.
Exploration program for 2022:
➢ Diamond core drilling
- Further testing of the major 1.7-kilometre-long feeder fault zone intersected at Chinook;
- Confirm structural information regarding inferred feeder faults;
- Provide further support for the interpretation of large-scale metal zonation within the project area; and
- Collect material for sighter metallurgical test-work.
➢ RC drilling
- Further scoping of Chinook, Tonka, Magazine and Navajoh to define the limits of mineralisation and infill within the discovery areas - E69/3464; and
- Drill scoping of Rumble’s exploration licenve ELA 69/3787 (subject to grant).
➢ Sonic drilling
- Superior recoveries recorded in Sonic holes EHS001 and EHS002 compared to diamond drilling within the Navajoh Unconformity Unit (NUU) has supported the company’s decision to restart the Sonic program in 2022. This material will be utilised in further metallurgical test-work; and
- Sonic drilling will also be used to test all areas of oxide mineralisation.
➢ Metallurgy
- Initial sighter test-work has commenced
➢ Geophysics
- Airborne magnetics planned over application areas; and
- Analysis and testing of gravity and passive seismic is ongoing.