Helix Resources (ASX:HLX) is planning to conduct follow-up reverse circulation drilling at the Bijoux copper prospect in New South Wales this week.
The drilling program aims to test the recently defined high tenor copper, in a ‘high-grade’, more than 500 parts per million copper anomaly.
Helix, which has a market capitalisation of $14.68 million, hopes to uncover additional copper mineralisation in a near surface setting, with potential to grow copper resources beyond its existing Canbelego mineral resource, which lies 9km to the north.
Managing Director Kylie Prendergast says that despite a short weather delay, the rig is now underway to Bijoux, part of the Western Group Tenements, as planned.
“Drill results at Bijoux earlier this year produced some excellent copper intercepts of higher grade oxide and sulphide copper mineralisation,” Prendergast says.
“This drill program will initially test directly north along strike of previous successful copper drill hits, and in an area with the highest copper surface geochemistry recorded to date.
“Helix is following up copper geochemistry targets to discover new CSA-style copper lodes within these anomalous outlines. CSA-style copper lodes are high-grade, vertically extensive bodies of copper that can be continuous to depths of 2km.”
Prendergast adds that Helix has proven that viable CSA-style copper lodes occur on its tenement, such as the copper resource estimates in Canbelego’s main lode. Discovered in 1870, the CSA Mine is the largest copper mine in the Cobar region. More than one million tonnes of ore and 180,000 tonnes of copper concentrate are produced at the underground mine every year.
In conjunction with Bijoux’s drilling program, auger drilling is in progress at the Muriel Tank area to test for extensions to existing ‘high-grade’ gold veins and historical workings.
Geophysical contractors have also been secured for the Legacy Minerals (ASX:LGM) joint venture Cobar Project to conduct surface electromagnetic surveys on multiple high-priority targets.
Helix adds that drill plans are currently being developed for gold targets on the Eastern tenements, and that exploration is progressing on multiple fronts across its New South Wales tenements.
Helix Resources is a resources company that explores in the prolific copper producing region of New South Wales. The company holds a ground position, encompassing 3,300km2, which is largely untested despite being located proximal to copper and gold producing operations.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Helix Resources
