Perth explorer Develop (ASX: DVP) has reported ‘extremely high-grade’ copper, zinc and silver mineralisation following a $10M drilling campaign at its Sulphur Springs Project in Western Australia’s Pilbara region.
The company notes that these results, generated from infill, extension and exploration drilling, will help to provide a ‘substantial’ upgrade of Inferred resources to the Indicated category and have extended known mineralisation.
Significant intercepts from resource drilling include:
- Hole SSD130: 65.1m @ 3.5% CuEq Western lens open pit infill
- Hole SSD156: 50m @ 2.9% CuEq Eastern lens underground infill
- Hole SSD171: 33m @ 4.6% CuEq Eastern lens underground infill
- Hole SSD122: 27.8m @ 6.7% CuEq Western lens open pit infill
- Hole SSD137: 23m @ 5.2% CuEq Western lens underground infill
Additional results from the ‘high-grade’ zinc hanging wall include:
- Hole SSD131: 11.7m @ 26.7% Zn & 148g/t, incl.
- 3.7m @ 51.9 Zn & 385g/t Ag
- Hole SSD169: 25m @ 8.9% Zn & 39.6g/t Ag
Exploration drilling has added additional ‘thick’ zones of ‘high-grade’ mineralisation:
- Hole SSD167: 23m @ 2.6% Cu from 295m, incl.
- 3m @ 11.8% Cu from 295m
Addressing the results, Develop Managing Director Bill Beament said: “We expected this drilling to generate strong results but these are even better than anticipated.
The grades are exceptional and they occur over extensive widths. As a result, we expect them to have a substantial impact on the Resource upgrade planned for the coming quarter.
“We expected this drilling to generate strong results but these are even better than anticipated”
We are also identifying new zones of the extremely high-grade (zinc-rich) hanging wall mineralisation, which shows the potential to continue growing this outstanding deposit.”
Develop has stated that results returned from exploration drilling highlight the prospectivity of the Main Fault structure, with both zones remaining open down plunge and representing ‘outstanding’ opportunity for rich copper mineralisation at depth.
In addition, an upgraded Mineral Resource Estimate would pave the way for an optimised mine development plan, revised project costings, an increased Reserve and finalisation of funding options for the project.
Drilling plan map at Sulphur Springs. Image: Develop Global LimitedThe Sulphur Spring project is located approximately 144km south of Port Hedland and comprises the Sulphur Springs and Kangaroo Cave deposits together with other tenements along the 27km Panorama Trend.
The project boasts a current Mineral Resource Estimate totalling 13.8Mt @ 2.8% CuEq (1.5% Cu, 3.8% Zn, 0.2% Pb and 17gpt Ag), including 9.4Mt in the Indicated category.
With the current drilling campaign at Sulphur Springs now complete, Develop has announced that it will move forward with follow-up drilling campaigns to further investigate intercepted mineralisation.
A Mineral Resource upgrade is expected in the September 2022 quarter.
