Encounter Resources Ltd (ASX: ENR) has kicked off a diamond drilling programme at 100% owned Lamil Copper-Gold Project in the Paterson Province of Western Australia.
Managing Director, Will Robinson, said that the Lamil drilling campaign is following up some impressive historical results in an area of recent exploration success.
Recent exploration success has proven the potential of the Paterson Province to host giant copper-gold deposits,” Mr Robinson said.
“Lamil has structural context, a proven deposit model and clear targets where shallow historical drilling intersected broad zones of copper-gold anomalism strengthening to bottom of hole.
“This initial programme will test three large scale copper-gold prospects in the fertile Paterson Province.”
Lamil covers an area of ~61 sq. km and is located 25 km northwest of the major gold-copper mine at Telfer, owned by Newcrest.
Shallow drilling completed in the 1980s by Newmont, which was targeting a series of magnetic anomalies, intersected thick zones of strong copper-gold anomalism.
The level of metal anomalism in the historical drilling is considered significant given the recent learnings from the Winu copper-gold discovery made by Rio Tinto and the Havieron gold-copper project operated by Newcrest and Greatland Gold.
Drill core from five holes drilled at Lamil in the 1980s by Newmont were relogged and contain zones of pervasive alteration, extensive pyrrhotite development and copper-bearing sulphide from within 50m of surface.
Recent work by Encounter has identified a couple of new drilling targets.
Aeromagnetic and IP surveys completed at Lamil in the second half of 2019 have significantly enhanced geological and structural interpretation of the project area and have highlighted compelling new drill targets.
In addition, a review of prior gold drilling geochemistry has identified a new drill target with a clear copper-gold-bismuth proximal signature and vector to potentially stronger mineralisation.
The Lamil Project has been awarded a competitive EIS co-funded drilling grant of up to $150,000 from the WA Government. Three targets at Lamil will be tested in a programme expected to be completed in April with assay results anticipated in May 2020.