Hillgrove Resources Ltd (ASX:HGO) has fielded a 70% increase in copper resources in an updated mineral resource estimate (MRE) for the Nugent copper-gold deposit within the Kanmantoo Copper-Gold Project utilising results from a 2021-2022 diamond drilling program.
The resource has been estimated for the Nugent underground mineralised zone at the project, 55 kilometres southeast of Adelaide in South Australia, with total mineral resources at Kanmantoo, including Kavanagh and Nugent, now more than 75,000 tonnes of copper.
Highlights of the update include:
- 70% increase in the total copper metal compared to the 2020 Nugent resource of 8,700 tonnes.
- 69% of the Nugent resources are now classified as indicated compared to 30% indicated in the 2020 Nugent MRE.
- The resource estimates are still constrained by the extent of the drilling and not by the geology, in both the along-strike and down-dip directions.
- The updated Nugent mineral resource continues to affirm the potential for an underground operation utilising the invested capital in the Kanmantoo Mining Lease and Processing Plant.
Total mineral resource at Kanmantoo.
The company undertook a 24-hole drill program in May, which demonstrated the continuity and copper-gold endowment of the Nugent system.
Read: Hillgrove Resources latest drill results increase mineralisation footprint at Kanmantoo
As with all HGO’s previous drill programs at Nugent and its Kavanagh deposit, the 2021-22 Nugent drilling program has resulted in an increase in total resources and a conversion of inferred resources to lower risk classification categories.
More opportunities to increase resource
The latest results highlight the strong work Hillgrove is doing at Kanmantoo and its consistent progress.
Commenting on the mineral resource update for the Nugent deposit, Hillgrove CEO and managing director Lachlan Wallace said: “The latest drilling has increased the Nugent mineral resource estimate in both size and geological confidence. I expect the mining inventory to grow as these results are incorporated into the mine plan.
“Importantly, the resource is constrained only by the extent of the drilling and remains open along strike and down-dip, providing an excellent opportunity to further increase the resource with further drilling.”
About Hillgrove
Hillgrove is focused on the operation of the Kanmantoo Copper Mine, which comprises the Giant, Nugent and Emily Star Open Pits, and fully permitted and operational ore processing plant and tailings storage facility with spare capacity.
The company is investigating underground development of the high-grade copper-gold lodes that continue beneath its Kanmantoo Open Pits and is well positioned to rapidly develop these underground lodes, if they are economic to do so, given their location on an operational Mine Lease and immediately adjacent to existing, fully permitted and operational, infrastructure.