Aeris Resources Ltd (ASX:AIS) welcomes positive progress by partner Helix Resources Ltd at the Canbelego Joint Venture in the Cobar region of New South Wales with new reverse circulation (RC) drilling underway and visual copper observed in core.
JV operator Helix has started a 5,000-metre RC drilling program to test new targets at Greater Canbelego and Caballero prospects along the regional-scale Rochford Copper Trend.
Visual copper mineralisation was intersected in the first two RC drill holes testing new lode positions about 200 metres west of the Canbelego Main Lode within the Greater Canbelego JV project area.
This drilling follows the completion of the latest Canbelego Main Lode diamond drilling program, consisting of four drill holes.
Contributing JV
The Canbelego Copper Project is a 70:30 contributing JV with Helix holding 70% and serving as project manager and Aeris Resources holding 30%.
Aeris is an active copper producer in the broader region and is confident the Canbelego project and its current interest will complement its operations at the Tritton project.
Its confidence is supported by the progress being made by Helix, including diamond drill holes that tested the new geological interpretation for the Canbelego Main Lode of a high-grade copper shoot plunging south, not north.
Plan of Canbelego and Caballero drilling locations.
Diamond drilling
This was highlighted by an intercept of 14 metres at 4.2% copper in CANDD002 while the drilling also identified a potential second shoot to the southeast.
Preliminary geological logging of the diamond holes is highly encouraging to the JV partners with copper minerals observed at the northern shoot position in drill holes CANDD010 and 012 drilled about 50 metres ‘up’ and ‘down’- plunge (respectively) from the intercept in CANDD002.
The southern shoot position was tested with CANDD011 and CANDD013. The former intersected a broad ~18-metre interval of disseminated and vein chalcopyrite and the latter a narrow zone (<3 metres) of vein and disseminated chalcopyrite, including a 40-centimetre zone of >10% chalcopyrite.
Assays for diamond holes CANDD010 to 013 are pending.
Visual copper in RC holes
Providing further encouragement is that the first two holes of the new RC program both hit visual copper mineralisation testing a newly identified parallel lode position (CBW1) 200 metres west of the Canbelego Main Lode.
One hole, CBLRC032, intersected oxide copper minerals (malachite and chalcocite) at shallow depths of 7 to 34 metres downhole.
The second hole, CBLRC031. intersected a 4-metre interval of disseminated and vein chalcopyrite from 94 metres.
These intersections extend the mineralisation in the CBW1 Lode approximately 60 metres to the north – and this lode remains open to the north and at depth.
RC drilling will continue testing the newly identified parallel lode positions to the west of the Canbelego Main Lode and then move south to the Caballero Prospect to follow-up on promising anomalous RC drill results returned in 2018.
“Strong encouragement”
Helix managing director Mike Rosenstreich said: “The current diamond and RC drilling is providing strong encouragement of deeper high-grade copper shoots at Canbelego Main Lode and potential parallel ‘look-a-likes’ in close proximity.
"This RC drill program comprises approximately 40 holes and we are excited to start drill testing other, earlier stage prospects, such as Caballero along the Rochford Copper Trend.
"Copper mineralisation is typically very ‘visual’ and RC drilling is much quicker than diamond core drilling - so we can make drill decisions and share news more regularly ahead of assays – which are still taking 60 to 80 days.”