Artemis Resources Limited (ASX:ARV) is preparing a major drilling campaign as part of its “Project One Million” aimed at boosting resource numbers at its Carlow Castle Au-Cu-Co Project in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
Executive Director, Alastair Clayton, said the key work programme of Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling of SAM targets 1-4 has been designed to test strike extensions to the west of the current resource, over a strike of ~1km. The programme is targeting the drilling of 24 holes for 2,400m.
RC drilling of seven drill holes for 1,600m has been designed around the resource area to test depth extensions and to undertake DHEM, which will test the EM (Electromagnetic) signature of the ore zone.
The EM signature will assist with identifying potential downdip extensions and parallel lode systems within and around the current resource area.
Mr Clayton said the 4,000m RC drill programme will assist in generating an Exploration Target, and increasing the scale and size of the Carlow Castle resource.
Project One Million is about to commence. The team is confident of proving up the potential of Carlow Castle as we target growing the already substantial inferred resource at Carlow Castle,” he said.
“As has been recently witnessed with the results out of De Grey Mining with their Hemi prospect in the west Pilbara, exploration drilling in particular is sometimes one of the simplest and effective ways to create shareholder value. The company looks forward to reporting the progress and results of this upcoming programme.”
Artemis’s CEO/Executive Director, Ed Mead, said there are multiple potential outcomes from the planned programme including:
- Resource extends at depth, thereby increasing the reported resource within a conceptual pit shell;
- DHEM results indicating sulphide mineralisation extending further at depth and/or along strike, or potential new structures and parallel zones identified; and
- Drilling to the west of the current resource indicating that mineralisation extends along strike, thereby showing that there is potential to substantially grow the resource with additional shallow drilling.
“I am extremely happy to resume drilling at Carlow Castle later this month, with the work programme of RC drilling and downhole electromagnetics designed to increase the scale of the project for strike and dip extensions,” Mr Mead said.
“The programme has the potential to add ounces to the project before committing to diamond drilling to increase the JORC category to indicated.”
The Carlow Castle gold and copper project is located in the West Pilbara region of Western Australia, approximately 45 km by road east of the city of Karratha and approximately 35 km from Artemis’ 100% owned Radio Hill Processing Plant.
The current Carlow Castle Mineral Resource covers a strike length of 1.2 km, and was successfully identified using SAM exploration in early 2018. In conjunction with geochemical anomalies, SAM targeting drove the Carlow Castle drilling programme in 2018 that increased the maiden resource by 71% in February 2019, and subsequent SAM survey which has identified 21 new targets to the west of the current resource.
Recent structural mapping and evaluation of historical diamond core and trenching through the top of the resource area, led to a significant increase in the confidence levels of the project, and culminated in the new Mineral Resource estimate (MRE) announced in November 2019, that increased metal content by 60% for gold, 25% for copper and 15% for cobalt.
