Alicanto Minerals Ltd (ASX: AQI) has confirmed multiple zones of significant mineralisation with assay results from its initial drill hole at the Skyttgruvan-Naverberg target at the Falun Project in Sweden.
These are extremely encouraging results which suggest we have made an important breakthrough in our search of the extension of the rich Falun mineralised system,” Alicanto Managing Director Rob Sennitt said.
“The Falun mine was one of the great mines of the world. For centuries it was the largest copper producer in the western world. We have always believed that there is significant potential for additional mineralisation in the region.
“These results, some 3.5km from the historic Falun mine, continue to build on our thesis that the Falun system is much bigger than what was initially mined. The success of the two drill holes provides significant encouragement to progress with the design of a comprehensive program to continue our exploration at Falun.
“Alicanto has now identified two high quality projects at Falun and Sala which provide significant upside and optionality for Alicanto shareholders.”
The Skyttgruvan-Naverberg target is located 3.5km along the limestone sequence host to the historic Falun mine.
The company recently announced that it had signed a binding agreement to acquire the historic Falun mine and surrounding tenure. At Skyttgruvan historical mining between 1890 and 1908 targeted copper-zinc production from a small underground mine. No modern exploration has tested the mine horizon limestone since the mine closure, despite the close proximity and analogous lithostratigraphic position to Falun.
A recent drillhole targeted the down plunge continuation of the historic underground mine at Skyttgruvan and has successfully intersected semi-massive to massive sulphide mineralization in the stratigraphic footwall contact to the regional Falun limestone unit.
The intersected sequence mimics the stratigraphic location and asymmetric alteration in the host limestone of the nearby historic Falun Mine.
Multiple higher-grade intercepts were returned within a broader zone of elevated sulphide mineralization. Intersections are zinc dominated but include elevated silver, copper and lead grades and anomalous gold values. Individual assays of up to 744g/t silver, up to 1.9% copper and up to 0.65g/t gold are reported from the drillhole.
Assay results from drillhole GRO22-19 include:
The current modelling for Falun and Skyttgruvan-Naverberg is that they constitute a tight intrusion related skarn system without significant telescoping of copper-gold as proximal and silver-zinc-lead as distal, as can be seen for example at Sala. Instead, the company has found a significantly higher endowment of gold and copper together with the silver-zinc-lead at the one limestone chemical trap.
A second drillhole (GRO22-20) has been completed which intersected strongly anthophyllite altered proximal footwall alteration. The host limestone sequence was not intercepted with the interpreted geology indicating that the hole has stayed in the footwall sequence. Stringer and disseminated copper mineralisation in the form of chalcopyrite was intercepted between 397.60-405.57 down hole. The location of the copper intersection correlates to the surface projection of the Naverberg deposit, a small, historic open pit copper mine, which constitutes the footwall copper-rich stringer zone to the Skyttgruvan deposit.
Down hole EM measurements returned a significant off-hole conductor north of the hole. This conductor is interpreted to be the conductor detected in GRO22-19, with a refined strike from the original modelled plate. Hole GRO22-20 has not intersected the modelled plate and the target remains untested. The source of the conductor is interpreted to be either (i) displaced continuation of massive sulphides intersected in hole GRO22-19, or (ii) stronger copper stringer style mineralization associated with the Naverberg Mine.
The company is currently progressing permitting with the department of mines to allow follow up surface electromagnetic surveys of the target host limestone horizon and further drilling to test the modelled down hole electromagnetic targets and continuation of the Skyttgruvan mineralization.
The drill rig has now returned to Sala while permitting progresses at Falun for further exploration activity, including follow up drilling. Drilling at Sala will initially test high priority targets in the vicinity of the Sala mine targeting structural analogues of the Sala system which historically produced 200Moz of high-grade silver.