Eagle Mountain Mining (ASX:EM2) reports it has received ‘strong’ copper and gold results from large diameter drilling at the Talon Prospect, located within the Oracle Ridge Copper Mine Project in Arizona, US.
The company says drillhole WT-22-160 was drilled in the southern Talon zone and was designed to intersect the mineralised zone encountered in drillhole WT-21-31 drilled 15m to 25m to the west which returned 96m @ 1.34% Cu, 10.64g/t Ag and 0.37g/t Au.
The new results confirmed the overall thickness and endowment of the mineralised zone, and the company notes an additional zone of 27.2m @ 0.89% Cu, 7.50g/t Ag and 0.19g/t Au was intersected in WT-22-160 around 20m above the main intersection.
Eagle Mountain also reports 2 infill holes were drilled at nominal inferred spacing of 50m within the footprint of the existing MRE, and hole WT-22-161 drilled around 50m northeast of WT-22-143 in the eastern section of Talon intersected 2 copper-rich zones which remain open to the north and east of the area.
WT-22-161 intersected 4.3m @ 1.85% Cu, 13.65g/t Ag and 0.18g/t Au from 216.5m, while drillhole WT-22-152 at the eastern Talon intersected 13m @ 1.32% Cu, 10.74g/t Ag and 0.19g/t Au from 241.8m, which was thicker and ‘higher grade’ compared to nearby holes WT-22-154 to the west and WT-22-128 to the west.
Eagle Mountain Mining CEO Tim Mason said the results from hole WT-22-160 in the southern Talon are very pleasing as they support the strong grades and mineable thickness of mineralisation in this area.
“These results also show strong gold assays consistent with nearby holes”
“These results also show strong gold assays consistent with nearby holes. This hole was drilled at larger diameter as part of the first metallurgical testwork program for the area.
Drilling from the surface is currently focusing on prospective targets around the Daily and Geesaman mines which are entirely outside the existing JORC mineral resource. Following the recent refurbishment of the underground mine, underground drilling is planned to commence in December 2022 which aims to further upgrade existing resources around the main mine area.
Eagle Mountain remains focused on various activities to bring Oracle Ridge back into production while also testing prospective targets in the near-mine region.”
Eagle Mountain says drillhole WT-22-160 was drilled at a larger diameter to enable greater sample mass to be collected, and this is the first larger diameter hole drilled into the Talon zone and will be used for the planned metallurgical testwork program.
The company has engaged a metallurgical consultant to undertake various metallurgical studies including optimisation of comminution and processing recoveries along with the assessment of other value adding opportunities, focusing on areas which have the greatest potential to be included in the first 5 years of a future mine plan.
Eagle Mountain also says the drill rig is currently testing extensions to the Daily and Geesaman mines located near the existing mine portal, and the current drilling program is designed to assess the amount of remnant mineralisation adjacent to historically mined areas and test the potential for mineralisation between the 2 mines.
The company reports the lowermost parts of the historical mines which were active before the 1950s, are flooded and could not be accessed during the recent drone supported underground survey, and it is assessing underwater survey tools or alternative geophysical techniques to define the extent of the historical underground workings.
The underground rig is planned to mobilise to the site later this month and commence drilling in early December, and several underground drill stations have been established and more are planned to be completed to allow resource upgrade and metallurgical drilling to occur throughout the mine.
Eagle Mountain Mining is a copper-gold explorer focused on the exploration and development of the Oracle Ridge Copper Mine and the prospective greenfields Silver Mountain Project, both located in Arizona in the US.
Images: Eagle Mountain Mining Ltd
