Duke Exploration (ASX:DEX) is reporting final assay results from the reverse circulation (RC) drilling program that began in February this year at its flagship Bundarra Project in Queensland.
Duke is reporting assays received from 22 drillholes totaling 3,697m that were completed at the Lone-Hand-Clooracorn-Seafood Prospects (LCS).
Duke Managing Director Philip Condon said the receipt of these assays completes the current phase of drilling for the northern area of the Bundarra Intrusive Complex (BIC).
“The results from this drilling are encouraging in that these results are indicative of Mt Flora style gently dipping vein swarms.
“The results from this drilling are encouraging in that these results are indicative of Mt Flora style gently dipping vein swarms”
The assays confirm the area around Lone Hand warrants follow-up drilling in the future.
Further, the receipt of all laboratory assays has confirmed that the previously reported pXRF results are repeatable and slightly conservative.
We have now initiated a further refined phase of drilling, testing a combination of prioritised intrusive, breccia, and structural related targets generated from continued analysis of our exploration program results.”
The LCS investigation is part of the scout drilling program focused on primary targets located in the northern portion of the BIC.
These targets were previously identified as a direct result of the extensive exploration program conducted in Q3 and Q4 2021, including soil sampling, geological ground truthing and assessment, VTEM and airborne magnetics analysis over the entire BIC targets that are emerging as candidates for resource delineation drilling in the future.
Duke reports it has initiated the next phase of the Scout drilling which is focusing on testing structural and magnetic targets emanating from the integration of Duke and Rankin (2022) targets.
This work involves a combination of the following:
- RC with a DD tail investigation of a prominent magnetic high located northeast of Rogers.
- RC with DD tail testing the geometry and extent of breccia mineralisation at Rogers Prospect.
- Shallow heel-toe RC drilling testing a prominent magnetic high south of Mt Flora, which may be an intrusive stock emplaced into the controlling mineralised structures peripheral to Mt Flora.
- Continued geological investigations and ground validation of Rankin (2022) targets.
The Bundarra RC drilling program is scout testing high ranking prospects that are the most likely areas to host significant mineralisation with ‘high-grade’ or ‘large extent’.
Duke is reporting new targeting techniques have been tested and confirmed through recent diamond drilling, which provided important geological and structural information.
Structural and alteration targets generated from a recent geophysical data synthesis and interpretation have also been integrated into the program.
This update presents final assay results of RC chips for the LCS Prospects that are located on the northern contact margin of the BIC, and the hornsfelsed surrounding Permian metasediments.
The recent RC drilling has targeted principally Duke geophysical (VTEM conductors and magnetics) and coincident copper soil anomalies.
Each area was tested with at least one drill fence to adequately test outcropping mineralised zones, anomalous copper-in-soil, a VTEM resistivity low, or all of the above.
At Lone Hand 14 holes were drilled, spaced 80m apart with a standard depth of 150m, which allows for a minimum 6m overlap between holes.
A number of significant intersections were drilled at Lone Hand.
The structurally controlled vein-style mineralisation is similar to that at Mt Flora, although the vein system intersected has a gentler 30 to 35 degree dip to the east.
A well mineralised zone was intersected by BNRC033 and BNRC034 yielding 11m @ 0.40% Cu from 53m, and 14m @ 0.33% Cu from 15m.
BNRC036 intersected 7m grading 1.34% Cu.
Also of note in BNRC039 was an isolated molybdenum assay of 0.4% Mo.
The vein system is evident at surface and is open along strike to the north under the hornfels contact and south within the host granodiorite.
Receipt of the final assays has also indicated a clear upliftment in gold assays (up to 0.52g/t Au over 1m) associated with the copper intersections.
Most of these are localised in the Lone Hand-Clooracorn area.
Duke Exploration Limited is an exploration company listed on the ASX in November 2020.
It is focused on large scale copper, gold and silver systems in Eastern Australia.
The selection of its tenements including Bundarra was based on rigorous applications of various mineral system models using machine learning statistical spatial data analysis, combined with historical mining and exploration activity data.
