Helix Resources (ASX:HLX) has discovered a large-scale anomaly of copper-gold ‘pathfinder elements’ at the company’s Eastern Group Tenements (Eastern Group) located approximately 50km southeast of Nyngan in central, NSW.
Notably, this anomaly envelopes three copper-gold targets which returned high copper and gold assays from rock-chip samples.
The Eastern Group covers approximately 1,570 sq. km of copper - prospective stratigraphy in the Girilambone Group, west and southwest of Nyngan. In 2023 the company commenced a regional-scale exploration programme in the Eastern Group, comprising auger geochemical sampling, geological prospecting, and reconnaissance rock chip sampling. The exploration program, subject to cropping and weather events, is ongoing, and this report provides an update on auger and rock chip assay results received to date.
“The Helix team are utilising a number of advanced exploration techniques across our tenements, allowing the company to paint a much more refined picture of the high-grade copper-gold potential in the very prospective Collerina Trend,” Executive Technical Director, Kylie Prendergast, said.
“It is always exciting when multi layered datasets highlight the potential of a target. In this case, a newly identified, large-scale pathfinder (antimony and arsenic) auger anomaly is aligned with a major regional structural position. This discovery is further supported by the identification of initial high-grade copper and gold results in rock chips from three target areas.
“With further work, we expect these areas to feature within our upcoming, major drilling campaign, when Helix intends to test 20-30 prospects including 15-20 new undrilled targets.
Following significant regional exploration activity Helix is establishing a pipeline of very encouraging targets which have the potential to deliver a major copper-gold discovery. We are very active on our large, strategic land position in the highly endowed, Cobar copper-gold region. That’s makes our upcoming tests of that target pipeline very exciting for our shareholders.”
Auger Results
Assay results have been received for 1,417 auger samples in the Eastern Group in the area northwest of the CZ project. The latest results were combined and levelled with the reprocessed historical auger results to generate element maps for the primary economic metals such as copper (Cu) and a range of pathfinder elements such as arsenic (As) and antimony (Sb).
A 10km x 2km anomalous zone of antimony has been defined west of CZ that is open to the south and west. This zone also contains several arsenic anomalies, including a two km x one km arsenic anomaly over the Aldebaran and Max’s Folly prospects, where significant gold and copper results have also been returned from rock chip sampling and previous RC drilling.
Anomalous antimony is also present in previous auger sampling at the Widgelands prospect, which is located 13km to the northwest of Aldebaran.
Arsenic and antimony are common pathfinders for gold. Given the anomalous arsenic and antimony auger results, the pulps for all auger samples collected to date in the Eastern Group have been submitted for gold analysis, with results expected in March to April 2024. All future auger samples in the Eastern Group will also be analysed for gold.