Aruma Resources (ASX:AAJ) has identified three new priority gold and copper targets at its Tunnel Creek prospect, part of the company’s wholly owned Saltwater Project in Western Australia’s Pilbara region.
Ahead of a reverse circulation drilling program, the company has planned an infill soil sampling program, spanning 200m by 160m, to refine the targets.
Aruma will prioritise the Luke, Padme, and Rabbit areas in this program after conducting a technical review of historical exploration efforts by Fortescue (ASX:FMG) as the previous owner of the project.
The Luke target holds gold anomalism up to 27 parts per billion (ppb) in soils across a 2.5km2 area, while the Padme target is prospective for gold, copper, lead, zinc, and antimony across a 1.2km2 area. Padme has returned copper up to 83.6 parts per million (ppm).
The company will also target the Rabbit area for a 1.9km2 zone prospective of copper, lead, and zinc soil anomalism.
Managing Director Grant Ferguson says the company is encouraged by the results returning new targets on the eastern side of the project.
“The findings further enhance our confidence in the project’s potential to deliver significant value, and validates our strategic focus on this underexplored region of the Pilbara,” Ferguson says.
“The targets all exhibit strong, multi-element soil anomalism, and present an exciting new exploration opportunity at Saltwater – in addition to the already defined Apoc and Talmine Prospects.
“The new targets remain completely untested by drilling and are associated with favourable geological settings known to host world-class deposits.”
Fortescue previously returned 454 soil samples across a 400m by 160m grid in a 2012-13 geological mapping and soil orientation sampling program.
The company believes the targets uncovered in Fortescue’s exploration host potential for mesothermal and orogenic gold mineralisation that could be comparable to Black Cat Syndicate’s (ASX:BC8) nearby Paulsens Gold Mine.
Aruma Resources is a copper and uranium explorer focused on developing its portfolio of assets located in Queensland, South Australia, and Western Australia.
Write to Maddison Elliott at Mining.com.au
Images: Aruma Resources
