Rumble Resources Ltd (ASX:RTR)'s joint venture partner AIC Mines Ltd has the drills spinning at Lamil Gold-Copper Project, 30 kilometres west of the Telfer gold-copper mine in the highly prospective Paterson Province of Western Australia.
RTR's partner has 3,000 metres of diamond drilling on the agenda, designed to test three high-priority targets – Lamil Dome, Goodenia and Firebush.
Project economics are boosted by West Australian Government Exploration Incentive Scheme (EIS) grants, which will co-fund exploration at the Goodenia and Firebush prospects.
Lamil Dome
Drilling at the Lamil Dome prospect will focus on the eastern flank of the dome, where copper sulphide mineralisation, associated with a 4-kilometre-long mafic intrusion, was intersected during the 2020 and 2021 campaigns.
Four diamond holes will be drilled at this prospect, at a spacing of roughly 1 kilometre, to a minimum vertical depth of approximately 400 metres.
Wide-spaced aircore drilling over the dome in 2020 and follow-up, wide-spaced reverse circulation (RC) drilling on the eastern flank in 2021 confirmed the presence of alteration.
That program returned a best result of 1-metre grading 2.26% copper and 51 parts per billion (ppb) gold from 90 metres, further confirming the prospectivity of this zone.
The planned drilling is aimed to test the mafic intrusive contact down dip of the shallower level intersections along its 4-kilometre strike. Drilling will be supplemented with down-hole electromagnetic surveys (DHEM) to detect any ‘off-hole’ massive sulphide mineralisation.
Goodenia
A 750-metre deep drill hole will target a gravity anomaly beneath a halo of base metal anomalism at the Goodenia prospect.
Wide-spaced RC drilling in 2020 and 2021 intersected intervals of elevated zinc and lead in carbonaceous siltstones overlying a coincident gravity and magnetic anomaly.
Costs of up to $150,000, or half of the drilling costs, will be funded by a West Australian Government Exploration Incentive Scheme (EIS) grant.
Firebush
The company will also test the Firebush prospect, a coincident gravity and magnetic anomaly, for the first time. A single hole targeted at the centre of the gravity anomaly will test the anomaly and provide insights into the basement geology in this area.
Firebush is at the northern end of the project and is considered prospective for sediment-hosted zinc-lead deposits and Telfer gold-copper mineralisation in interpreted Isdell Formation sediments.
Drilling costs of up to $150,000, half the company's drilling costs, will be funded by the EIS grant.
About the Paterson Province
The Paterson Province is one of Australia’s most highly endowed yet under-explored mineral provinces.
It hosts the world-class Telfer gold-copper mine, the Nifty copper mine and the recent copper-gold discoveries at Winu by Rio Tinto and Havieron by the Greatland Gold-Newcrest joint venture.
The Lamil Project, which covers an area of 1,280 square kilometres, captures a covered belt of Yeneena Supergroup rocks, which host mineralisation at both the Telfer and Nifty mines.
The belt is bound by two deep penetrating, belt parallel, north-northwest trending structures.
JV terms
AIC can earn a 50% interest in the Lamil Project by spending $6 million over four years, under the terms of an earn-in and exploration joint venture agreement with Rumble Resources.
Thereafter, AIC can earn a further 15% by spending $4 million over one year if Rumble elects not to commence contributing.