Aeon Metals (ASX:AML) reports it has returned ‘exceptional’ copper and cobalt results from drilling at the Walford Creek Copper-Cobalt Project in northwest Queensland.
The company says 31 exploration holes have been completed for over 11,700m of drilling this year, and the results for hole WFDH548 extend the Amy West ‘high-grade’ copper footprint a further 90m east of hole WFDH378 and further holes with ‘outstanding’ assay results provide visual indication that mineralisation within PY3 extends for another 500m east along strike.
The top 48m of WFDH548 returned 1.78% Cu and 0.33% Co, which Aeon says is the ‘highest’ copper-cobalt intercept recorded at Walford Creek and the second intercept of 43m is copper rich returning 1.57% Cu, a record for copper only rich mineralisation.
Aeon states the presence of copper only rich mineralisation is a ‘major’ development at Walford Creek as previously this style of mineralisation has been observed in the dolomite sequence below PY3, and drillholes are typically extended beyond PY3 until they intersect the Fish River Fault.
It also notes the drillholes have extended further into the underlying dolomite sequence where variable intersections of copper only mineralisation has been recorded, but because of its greater depth, this style of mineralisation has not been specifically targeted, and the presence within PY3 in hole WFDH548 suggests the copper only rich mineralisation exhibits ‘greater’ opportunity than previously considered.
Aeon Managing Director and CEO Fred Hess said the Amy zone potential for much higher grades was first recognised in 2018 with 2 drillholes almost 1km apart returning the highest grade mineral intercept to that point at Walford Creek.
“The drilling results reinforce the potential for the Amy zone to host significantly higher grade and thicker PY3 mineralisation than that already identified at the well-drilled Vardy and Marley zones further to the east.
“The drilling results reinforce the potential for the Amy zone to host significantly higher grade and thicker PY3 mineralisation than that already identified at the well-drilled Vardy and Marley zones further to the east”
Both holes reported are consistent with the Walford Creek geological model and demonstrate the previously observed behaviour whereby holes drilled adjacent to the fault are typically thicker and higher grade, whilst those drilled much further away tend to be thinner and lower grade.
Of critical importance is that the high-grade hole 548 is actually comprised of 2 distinct intercepts separated by 5m, each of which represent the highest grade and thickness ever recorded respectively for copper-cobalt mineralisation and cobalt only mineralisation at Walford Creek.
This is the first major intercept of copper-only rich mineralisation within the PY3. With today’s results it is now likely that the Walford Creek system’s previously eastern centre of mass at Vardy and Marley zones will be joined by a higher grade westerly concentration of mineralisation at Amy West, thereby offering up new possibilities for mine development and potentially project scale.”
Aeon reports while ‘higher’ grades were anticipated based on previous drilling, it did not expect to have both record grade and width for both types of mineralisation in the same hole, and a number of further hoes have been drilled along strike to the east with assay results pending, and visual observations from the recently completed Amy West hole WFDH559 indicate wide zones of copper-lead-zinc mineralisation 600m east of WFDH548.
The reported assay results and the visual observations of holes awaiting assays in conjunction with earlier drilling results underpin ‘increased confidence’ that Amy West has a potential strike length of around 1.2km, and these results focus on the PY3 hosted mineralisation at Amy, while the true potential of the shallower PY1 host remains poorly tested to date.
The company says hole WFDH535 drilled almost 900m further to the east intercepted weak lead-zinc mineralisation at over 80m from the Fish River Fault, targeting ‘higher’ grade mineralisation closer to the fault and demonstrates the importance of drill targeting to define mineralisation at Walford Creek.
Aeon Metals is an Australian-based mineral exploration and development company which wholly owns the Walford Creek Copper-Cobalt Project located 340km north-north west of Mt Isa in northwest Queensland.
Other projects held by the company includes the Constance Range Project, as well as the Isa North, West and South projects.
Images: Aeon Metals Ltd
