Encounter Resources (ASX: ENR) has intersected a potentially significant leakage anomaly at the BM5 target with drilling at Yeneena, part of an earn- in by IGO in the Paterson Province of WA.
“The Paterson Province’s potential for large, new copper deposits has attracted numerous large mining companies into the region in recent years including Rio Tinto, Fortescue and IGO. Exploration at the Yeneena project, located south of the Nifty copper mine, is completed in partnership and funded by IGO under a farm-in agreement,” Managing Director Will Robinson said.
“Aircore drilling completed in September 2023 has identified a laterally extensive copper anomaly interpreted to be leakage along a fault from a primary position at depth.
Planned drilling will target primary copper mineralisation deposited at the base of a thick carbonate unit interpreted from geophysics.”
Background
Yeneena comprises a major land position covering >1,450 sq. km in the highly prospective Paterson Province, targeting copper-cobalt mineralisation. IGO can sole fund $15m in exploration expenditure over a maximum of seven years to earn a 70% interest in Yeneena.
The first wide spaced drilling in the BM5 target area was completed by WMC in the early 1990s. This RC drilling intersected zones of iron-manganese rich material with associated copper, silver, lead and zinc anomalism below cover.
In 2009 Encounter completed seven aircore holes which confirmed the copper anomalous iron-manganese horizon sits above a carbonate unit which is the host to the base metal deposits in this region. Diamond drill hole (EPT062) completed by Encounter to test beneath the iron-manganese horizon intersected a narrow vein of massive sulphide containing sphalerite and galena in brecciated carbonate that returned 0.1m @ 28.5% zinc, 2.3% lead and 33.9g/t silver from 301.6m.
This intersection confirmed that processes required to form primary high-grade base metal mineralisation are present in the BM5 target area. A vein intersection of this type is consistent with a distal halo around a body of base-metal mineralisation.
2023 Aircore Drilling
Nine aircore holes were completed west of the historical drilling at BM5 in September 2023 as part of a 16 hole regional reconnaissance aircore drill programme. This drilling was targeting the upflow source of a recently identified hydrochemical anomaly.
Aircore drilling returned anomalous copper, silver and base metal values in 400m-spaced holes to the west of a major regional fault. The anomalous assays occur within an iron- manganese horizon above a carbonate unit. Highly anomalous copper assays occur at the weathering interface and are interpreted to be hydromorphic dispersion up the fault from nearby primary copper mineralisation.
Results feature significant copper, silver and palladium anomalism including:
* 15m @ 0.17% Cu and 21.8g/t Ag from 69m to EOH. Including 10m @ 0.23% Cu from 73m
* 9m @ 432ppm Cu and 4.7g/t Ag from 65m (23PTAC0108) o including: 7m @ 24.7 ppb Pd from 67m
Further drilling to locate and characterise the inferred primary mineralisation is planned. The follow up drill programme will target primary copper mineralisation at the base of the carbonate in the faulted core of the syncline. This target position within the Broadhurst Formation adjacent to a major regional fault and is an analogous geological setting to that of the Nifty copper deposit located ~50km north-west.