Estrella Resources (ASX:ESR) has reported ‘high-grade’ copper, nickel, silver, and manganese results from the Sica and Daudere prospects in Timor-Leste.
Rock chip sampling at Sica returned up to 60.34% copper (Cu), 182 parts per million (ppm) silver (Ag), and 0.75% nickel (Ni) from oxidised massive sulphide, while a separate sample assayed 50.8% Cu.
At the newly identified Daudere prospect, about 5km southwest of Sica, copper mineralisation returned up to 12.4% Cu and 77ppm Ag.
Eight manganese samples from Daudere averaged 51.7% manganese (Mn), with grades ranging from 44.91–57.03%.
“Our latest results have not only encountered multiple instances of high-grade copper but have also interpreted a potential relationship between these two discoveries via a large geological dome,” Managing Director Robert Mencel says.
Estrella says the Sica and Daudere prospects may be linked by the Laleno Dome, a geological structure about 700m high and 10km wide.
Quantitative X-ray diffraction analysis identified arsenide minerals including enargite and lautite within the copper mineralisation. The company says these minerals are commonly associated with high-sulphidation epithermal and porphyry copper systems.
According to Estrella, the results indicate the massive sulphide may represent either a pod within a polymetallic hydrothermal vein or hydrothermal veins derived from an intrusive source.
The company also identified several intrusions around the Laleno Dome during geological mapping and reported evidence of hydrothermal alteration.
Estrella expects final results from its magnetotelluric drone survey by the end of July. According to the company, resistivity and induced polarisation surveys are scheduled to begin at Ira Miri in mid-July before extending to Leuro and Sica.
Write to France Pinzon at Mining.com.au
Images: Estrella Resources
