Liontown Resources Limited (ASX: LTR) has announced that multiple, highly anomalous gold and copper results including 12m @ 1.37 g/t gold were returned from the partially completed maiden air-core drilling program at its Moora Project in Western Australia.
Latest intersections included 12m @ 1.37 g/t gold from surface including 4m @ 2.92g/t gold from 4m in MRAC0092; and 37m @ 0.25g/t gold from surface (to EoH2) and 13m @ 0.22% copper from 24m (to EoH) in MRAC0072.
The company said that the anomalous results are coincident with the 7km long Mt Yule magnetic anomaly, interpreted to be indicative of a large mafic/ultramafic intrusion. LTR said that all mineralised trends remain open with in-fill and extensional air-core drilling scheduled to re-commence in mid-February 2021.
Liontown said that assays are pending for a 14-hole/1,946m maiden RC drilling program and ~1,000 first-pass auger soil samples collected from across other priority target areas defined by magnetic data.
JV with Lachlan Star
The company had recently inked a Joint Venture Agreement with Lachlan Star Resources which gives Liontown the right to earn up to 51% in the neighbouring Koojan Project. The combined Moora/Koojan Projects now cover a largely contiguous area of ~1,100km2 in the same geological terrain as Chalice’s world-class Julimar discovery located ~95km to the south.
AC drilling at Moora
The company had planned air-core program at Moora comprising 200 holes for 12,000m, designed to test a number of auger soil and magnetic anomalies defined last year. A total of 119 holes for 5,247m were drilled before Christmas 2020.
Highly encouraging initial results were reported last month, which included 10m @ 1.9% copper from 32m (to EoH) including 4m @ 2.5% copper from 36m (MRAC0012); and 12m @ 0.5g/t gold from 12m including 4m @ 1.1g/t gold from 20m (MRAC0012).
The company announced that it has now received the assays from all the completed holes.
Assays confirm discovery potential for Moora
The company said that significant new assays from air-core drilling has confirmed emerging discovery potential at Moora Project.
Three mineralised areas defined
Liontown said that the assays received have defined at least three mineralised areas coincident with the Mt Yule anomaly, a large, 7 x 2.5km, WNW-ESE trending magnetic feature interpreted to define a mafic/ultramafic intrusion obscured by transported cover and strong weathering.
The company said that the mineralised areas delineated so far comprise a +2km long and up to 150m wide copper (>1,000ppm) – gold (>100ppb) northern zone; a south-western zone which returned intersections of up to 12m @ 1.37g/t gold; and a south-eastern zone defined by a single drill traverse with drill intersections of up to 37m @ 0.25g/t gold and 12m @ 0.22% copper.
Liontown said that the mineralised trends are open and only partially defined, and in-fill air-core drilling is planned prior to follow up with deeper RC holes.
Pending results
The company said that assays are pending for a recently completed 14 hole/1,946m maiden RC drilling program designed to follow up air-core results reported last month.
LTR said that a regional auger sampling program across previously untested, priority magnetic targets was completed with assays for ~1,000 samples pending. This work is expected to define further targets for drill testing and will be undertaken in parallel with ground-based electrical geophysical surveys to help refine deeper drill targeting.
Next steps
The company said that further work would include RC drilling beneath aircore anomalies, first pass aircore drilling across untested auger anomalies, extend and first pass auger sampling, and ongoing access negotiations with landowners.
LTR said that the remaining 81 AC holes will be drilled in February 2021 following completion of the in-fill drilling which is estimated will total an additional 20-30 holes for 1,000-1,500m.
Management comments
Liontown’s Managing Director, David Richards, said: “Intersecting potentially ore grade intersections in shallow air-core drilling – which is effectively geochemical sampling of the bedrock – is an outstanding result for this stage of exploration, particularly as they lie within three clearly defined mineralised trends which remain open.
Our systematic approach to uncovering a potentially significant discovery will continue. We are awaiting assays from the first round of RC drilling below the initial round of air-core drilling. In the meantime, in-fill air-core will commence shortly and continue as part of an expanded program. Assays are also pending from regional auger sampling.
With a growing volume of drilling data from the Project in the weeks ahead, we anticipate being able to move relatively quickly to further RC and, potentially, diamond drilling. If there is a big discovery to be made, we will leave no stone unturned to make sure we uncover it.”
* Image source: Liontown Resources Limited