ASX-listed resource company Ironbark Zinc (ASX:IBG) reports fieldwork has revealed copper grades up to 7.1% copper at the Fiery Creek Copper-Gold Project in New South Wales.
The company says the field reconnaissance visit was carried out with the aim of re-establishing site access to the project after several years of very inclement weather in the region. It states the visit was ‘successful’ with a new route being established into the area, providing access to field personnel in the future.
While in the project area, Ironbark visited several historic workings and a portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) machine was used to take readings from mullock dumps. The results from the pXRF included FCW4 with 7.1% Cu; FCW9 with 4.5% Cu and 1.2% zinc (Zn); and FCW5 with 3.4% Cu.
Ironbark Zinc Managing Director Michael Jardine says: “The Fiery Creek Copper-Gold Project is a little-known part of our portfolio but is now seeing new investment for the first time in many years.
“The Fiery Creek Copper-Gold Project is a little-known part of our portfolio but is now seeing new investment for the first time in many years”
It has huge potential with 8km of strike, over 600 historic workings, and extremely high-grade gold and high-grade copper in the historic database. There are obvious drill targets below the workings, and to close off the known site, and we look forward to delivering more results in 2023.”
Ironbark reports the pXRF was not able to take gold readings and only recorded base metal results. The mineralisation comprised quartz veins and pods in and around the workings that were hosted in interbedded, ‘strongly’ cleaved and locally folded and crenulated siltstones and sandstones.
Quartz veins occasionally contained coloured iron-oxide minerals with rare boxwork textures, and in one case, weathered arsenopyrite blebs.
The Fiery Creek Project is wholly owned by Ironbark and is located around 90km south-southeast of the Australian capital city of Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory, about 5km along strike of the historic Cowarra Gold Mine that produced 85,000 ounces of gold.
Previous exploration conducted by the company in November 2020 at the project included the identification of 2 major structures that likely control the gold mineralisation and appear to be analogous to the Ballarat East deposit and the Victorian Goldfields.The company also competed a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) on historic survey data comprising of arsenic (As), Cu, lead (Pb), and Zn.
Ironbark considers there is ‘high’ potential to locate economic grade mineralisation at Fiery Creek, and the extent of the workings indicate there is a good profitability that sufficient tonnes to be of interest are present at the Macanally Prospect.
Ironbark Zinc is an ASX-listed resource company focused on developing the Citronen Project in Greenland which is considered one of the world’s ‘largest’ zinc-lead resources.. The company also holds the Fiery Creek Copper Gold Project, and Captains Flat Project in southeastern New South Wales.
Images: Ironbark Zinc Ltd iStock
