Great Western Exploration (ASX:GTE) has identified a “highly prospective” copper-gold target which it has named Juggernaut within the Yerrida North Project in Western Australia.
The Juggernaut target lies on the western portion of the Yerrida Basin and sits 70km south-east of the Sandfire Resources’ (ASX:SFR) DeGrussa and Monty Copper-Gold volcanic-hosted massive sulphide (VHMS) deposits.
This latest discovery comes after Great Western completed numerous fieldwork programs, including geological mapping, surface sampling, and modelling.
At Juggernaut, rock chip sampling recorded results including up to 20 grams per tonne silver, 4,460 parts per million (ppm) lead, 4,850ppm zinc, and 850ppm copper.
Great Western, which has a market capitalisation of $16.51 million, says the target is defined by a zoned lead-zinc to copper geochemical anomaly, with geological mapping defining sedimentary and volcanic rocks.
The company adds this indicates Juggernaut is in a deep seafloor environment with syngenetic volcanism, with structural modelling determining the rock units at the target were formed within a rift structural setting.
Great Western has begun preparations for drilling this new target, with a heritage clearance indicatively scheduled for November 2024.
The company says Juggernaut’s prospectivity is evidenced by the confluence of coincident attributes. These attributes include geochemical anomalism, mapped geological units and associated textures, alongside modelled structural regimes.
Great Western interprets these attributes to have ‘high potential’ for a VHMS-type mineral system to be defined, similar to DeGrussa in the nearby Bryah Basin.
The DeGrussa mine is currently under care and maintenance with its progressive rehabilitation to be conducted over the coming decades.
According to the Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DMIRS), DeGrussa produced up to 300,000 tonnes of high-grade copper concentrate (plus over one tonne of gold) per year — making it the ‘largest’ copper producer in Western Australia.
The Yerrida North Project encompasses the Oval and Oval South targets which are interpreted to have multiple coincident features, representing potential metal-rich sulphide mineralisation and a “very large copper-gold-discovery.”
Great Western Exploration is a copper, gold, and nickel explorer focused on its land position in prolific regions of Western Australia. The company’s tenements have been under or virtually unexplored.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Great Western Exploration
