Alkane Resources Limited (ASX:ALK) has received further encouragement with the final set of results from a resource drilling program at its landmark Boda Prospect within the Northern Molong Porphyry Project in Central West New South Wales.
Assays have been received from the drilling designed to assist with estimating a maiden resource at Boda, comprising the final three RC drill holes and seven diamond core drill holes for a total of 7,133 metres.
Broad intersections
These holes have returned more broad intersections of gold and copper to further enhance the Boda discovery where a maiden resource calculation for the central zone of gold-copper mineralisation has begun and is expected to be completed next month.
Assays from the north-western traverse that intersected a bornite cemented breccia include:
BOD080:
- 361 metres at 0.27 g/t gold and 0.15% copper from 719.7 metres
- including 36 metres at 0.72 g/t gold and 0.40% copper from 878 metres
- including 7 metres at 1.44 g/t gold and 0.63% copper from 880 metres
- also 2 metres at 1.01 g/t gold and 1.92% copper from 911 metres
- also 5 metres at 1.74 g/t gold and 0.12% copper from 1025 metres.
KSRC040D:
- 210.8 metres at 0.28 g/t gold and 0.14% copper from 612 metres
- including 6.3 metres at 2.35 g/t gold and 0.35% copper from 645.7 metres.
Other strong assays from the initial completed Boda resource drilling include
BOD072:
- 2 metres at 4.51 g/t gold and 0.13% copper from 179 metres
- and 529 metres at 0.31 g/t gold and 0.04% copper from 334 metres (gold flanking zone)
- including 1-metre at 8.45 g/t gold and 0.06% copper from 557 metres
- also 4 metres at 2.77 g/t gold and 0.19% copper from 825 metres
- and 11 metres at 0.23 g/t gold and 0.16% copper from 1,014 metres
- and 19.7 metres at 0.23 g/t gold and 0.15% copper from 1,238 metres.
BOD077:
- 664 metres at 0.23 g/t gold and 0.11% copper from surface
- including 163 metres at 0.30 g/t gold and 0.05% copper from surface (gold flanking zone)
- also 30 metres at 0.54 g/t gold and 0.16% copper from 506 metres.
Looking ahead, a maiden resource calculation for the central zone of gold-copper mineralisation is underway at Boda and is expected to be completed in April.
“Major milestone”
Commenting on the results, Alkane managing director Nic Earner said: “The completion of the resource drilling program is a major milestone for us as we consider our options for Boda.
“We have a significant volume of data to work with, which will allow us to finalise the initial Boda resource in April.
“We are also well advanced in a shallower drilling program at Kaiser-Duke that may enable an initial resource to be confirmed there.
“Alkane is planning further drilling in the northwest corridor of the Boda-Kaiser-Duke complex and will also be targeting higher-grade zones at Boda Two and Three, once we receive our latest results.
“We look forward to discussing the initial Boda resource with investors shortly.”
Drilling program
Alkane’s resource drilling has defined gold-copper mineralisation centred around. a 500-metre by 300-metre vertically extensive intrusive monzodiorite breccia stock, within a larger mineralised alteration zone.
The north-westernmost drilling traverse has defined a bornite cemented breccia suggesting the system plunges and remains open to the north-west and at depth.
Two reverse circulation drilling rigs have completed about 8,000 metres of a 13,000 metres drilling program at Kaiser-Duke, using a 100 x 100 metres drill hole grid sequence to 300 metres vertical depth for a separate initial resource estimate of the near-surface material
Notably, the initial phase of widely spaced drilling for approximately 30,000 metres has been completed at Boda Two and Three and demonstrates many encouraging similarities to Boda, including the existence of low-grade gold-copper mineralised breccias that may zone to high grading intervals as defined at Boda.
Boda is a landmark porphyry gold-copper system, within the Northern Molong Porphyry Project, which the company believes has the potential to be a large, tier-one gold-copper project.
Forward plan
Alkane’s initial broad spaced drilling at Boda two/three is complete and is awaiting results.
In addition, processing and sampling of the core have begun and when results are received (around 2-3 months), a geological review will commence targeting higher-grade zones for a second phase of drilling in the second half of 2022.
Furthermore, an Induced Polarisation (IP) with Magnetotellurics (MT) survey has been completed over the northwest structural corridor area, extending 5 kilometres northwest of Kaiser with results expected next month.