Castillo Copper Ltd (LSE:CCZ, ASX:CCZ) has discovered four shallow zones of cobalt mineralisation, hosted within the East Zone of the Broken Hill Alliance (BHA) Project – a combination of two project tenures adjacent to the town of Broken Hill – with legacy coding and analysis of 6,182 historic drill cores from the area.
Said coding is now 70% complete, the data from which will soon be used to model a JORC mineral resource estimate focused on cobalt mineralisation with potential for base metal credits.
Legacy assays simplify resource estimate
“Preliminary interpretations from analysing assayed drill hole data collected so far suggests cobalt mineralisation is within four zones down to a relative shallow 70 metres, with coincident base metal occurrences,” Castillo Copper CEO Dr Dennis Jensen said.
“This is encouraging as our geology team have now coded over 70% of the 6,182 drill-holes within the East Zone (BHA Project) and will shortly commence modelling a JORC 2012 compliant inferred mineral resource estimate (MRE) focused on cobalt with potential for base and precious metal (copper and gold) credits.
“In addition, the target area to be modelled is 2.5 kilometres long by 600 metres wide and located in the tenure’s south-east quadrant.
“In the board’s view, uncovering and leveraging high-quality legacy assays to potentially model up a JORC 2012 compliant MRE can materially advance the East Zone and create value for shareholders.”
CCZ sees the legacy assays available for this area of tenure as an economic win, fast-tracking the collection of data that will allow a JORC-compliant mineral resource to be modelled and speeding up the development of the BHA project with what the company describes as a negligible cost that can create material value for shareholders.
Next steps
In NSW:
➢ JORC 2012 compliant mineral resource estimate for the BHA Project’s East Zone.
In Queensland:
➢ Assay results for the Arya Prospect; and
➢ Big One Deposit – JORC 2012 compliant mineral resource estimate.
In Zambia:
➢ Complete geophysical report on the Mkushi Project; and
➢ Complete work on the inaugural drilling campaign for the Luanshya Project.
About Castillo Copper
Castillo Copper is a base metals explorer with its primary focus on copper as it embarks on a strategic transformation to morph into a mid-tier copper producer underpinned by its core projects.
Apart from the primary copper pillars at Mt Oxide in Queensland, Cangai Copper Mine in NSW and in Zambia’s Copper-belt, the company also has nickel, zinc, and cobalt exposure.
Castillo is considering divestment opportunities, including a possible spin-off of its sizeable BHA Project into a new vehicle, which could be listed in London or Australia to capitalise on the prevailing base and precious metals upcycle, once the project is further developed.