The first drilling program in almost 50 years is now underway on Octava Minerals’ (ASX:OCT) Sweeney’s prospect at the Federation project in Western Tasmania.
Federation contains copper, zinc, and silver, and is located 12km west of the town of Zeehan, in the minerals-rich western Tasmanian region and comprises two granted tenements covering 121km2.
The project is located in close proximity to a number of mining centres with processing and infrastructure, as well as a number of Hydro Power Stations.
Historical intersections recorded of sulphide mineralisation include 23m @ 1.2% copper, 1.7% zinc, 121g/t silver and 1.17% tin from 71m – that remain open at depth.
Managing Director Bevan Wakelam notes the project was only acquired in early August and to be drilling four months later “is a testament to the hard work by our team on the ground and the efficiency of Minerals Resources of Tasmania”.
The project licences are located on the margin of a granite dome known as the Heemskirk granite, a multiphase intrusion containing various phases of mineralisation which have intruded a sequence of Proterozoic sedimentary rocks.
Large faults in the region provided pathways for hot metallic solutions to re-mobilise and precipitate and form mineral deposits.
Drilling will focus on the semi massive sulphides host feeder mineralisation, that remains open at depth at the Sweeney’s prospect. Despite the extent of the Renison drilling in 1977/78 the shape and the full tonnage potential of the Sweeney’s high-grade mineralisation is not well understood.
The historical drilling intercepted a steeply dipping, SSE plunging mineralised zone of semi massive to massive pyrite, pyrrhotite, stannite, sphalerite and cassiterite. The sulphide zone is interpreted to feed ‘’greisen’’ style cassiterite dominant mineralisation above, while the feeder zone below remains open.
This is the target of the current drilling program.
Write to Adam Orlando at Mining.com.au
Images: Octava
