Panther Metals PLC (LSE:PALM), a company focused on mineral exploration in Canada, has reported that the diamond drilling programme has now commenced at the first of five prospect areas on the Obonga Project.
The company said the helicopter and first diamond drilling rig have arrived at site and been mobilised to commence drilling at the Wishbone Prospect to the planned schedule, on Monday 24 October.
In order to make most efficient use of the helicopter and stagger the start, it added, the second diamond drilling rig will also mobilise to Wishbone and is due to commence drilling during the course of today, Tuesday 25 October.
In a statement, Darren Hazelwood, Panther Metals' chief executive officer, commented: "The commencement of this dual drill rig, double-shift, multiple-prospect, diamond drilling programme at Obonga reaffirms our position as an explorer focused on making new discoveries.
"A great deal of work has gone into planning and commencing this five prospect drilling campaign, which is designed to test as many geophysical targets, as efficiently as possible, within the available time window and ahead of the onset of winter.
He added: "I would personally like to thank the local indigenous communities for their support and welcome in enabling us to proceed to drilling on Obonga this autumn.
"We eagerly await the first drill core and look forward to reporting further as the exciting work progresses."
At Wishbone, Panther is seeking to test the expected base metal zonation within the volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) mineral system discovered by the company's inaugural autumn 2021 two-hole drilling programme.
The Obonga drilling programme is targeting multiple high-priority electromagnetic (EM) and magnetic geophysical anomalies prospective for VMS-hosted copper/base metal mineralisation and intrusion-hosted nickel, platinum and palladium on the Obonga Greenstone Belt approximately 160 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.
Panther Metals acquired the Obonga Greenstone Belt in July 2021 and has already identified five prospective primary targets: Wishbone, Awkward, Survey, Ottertooth and Silver Rim. A successful Phase 1 drilling campaign at Wishbone in autumn 2021 revealed the presence of significant VMS-style mineralised systems on the property - the first such discovery across the entire greenstone belt.
Intercepts include 27.3 metres (m) of massive sulphide in hole one, and 51m of sulphide-dominated mineralisation in hole two. Both drill holes contained multiple lenses. Anomalous high-grade copper in lake sediment close to the target area has also been identified, increasing confidence in the prospectivity of the location.