District Metals Corp. (TSX-V:DMX) has said that drilling will kick off at the Bakar property on Vancouver Island, British Columbia (BC), once permits are received, to test a recently discovered large, high priority target called Elephant Crossing (EC).
The company is in a joint venture with Sherpa II Holdings Corp on the over 9,000 hectare (HA) asset. The firm owns a 20% stake and is operator, while Sherpa II holds 80%.
At EC, a large VTEM conductive anomaly has been identified, which covers an area of 1.5 kilometres (km) by 0.5 km that starts at just 50 metres (m) and extends below 500m. A coincident ZTEM conductive/contrast anomaly was also discovered over an area of 4.5 km by 0.8 km, noted District.
Two rock chip samples from outcrop at the edge of the covered coincident VTEM and ZTEM anomalies returned 0.49% copper and 4.13% copper, representing a new discovery at Bakar, the company said.
"In the most recent phase of exploration at the Bakar Property we attempted to sterilize the project, which in turn resulted in the identification of the EC Target," explained Garrett Ainsworth, CEO of District Metals, in a statement.
READ: District Metals discovers high-grade silver and zinc samples at its Gruvberget project in Sweden
"This part of Vancouver Island is prospective for porphyry copper and VMS style mineralized systems, and we are excited about the quality of the geophysical response paired with mineralization and mapped alteration that supports both target models.
"The EC target is mostly covered by thin overburden and is characterized by multiple strong coincident anomalies that have the potential to be a very significant mineralized system.
"Given the magnitude at Elephant Crossing it was a straightforward decision to approve a drill program to test this target. District Metals will remain as the operator of exploration activities at the Bakar Property," he added.
Ainsworth also noted that on a "regional perspective", NorthIsle Copper and Gold's North Island project, which is next to the northeast of Bakar, continues to deliver "strong results that showcases the outstanding metal endowment of the district".
"Drilling a new road-accessible mineral occurrence discovery in this belt will provide upside exposure to shareholders at a low expenditure," he highlighted.
District's main exploration focus is the Tomtebo project in the Bergslagen mining district of Sweden.
Tomtebo comprises 5,144 ha and sits between the historic Falun mine and Boliden's Garpenberg mine, which are 25 km to the northwest and southeast, respectively.
Two historic polymetallic mines and numerous polymetallic showings are located on the Tomtebo Property along an approximate 17 km trend that exhibits similar geology, structure, alteration and VMS/SedEx style mineralization as other significant mines within the district.
Contact the author at giles@proactiveinvestors.com