Orion Minerals Limited (ASX/JSE: ORN) has announced highly encouraging exploration news from the pre-Christmas drilling across the company’s extensive Areachap tenement holdings in the Northern Cape in South Africa.
ORN said that significant zones of copper, zinc, and nickel-copper-PGE mineralisation were intersected across all key prospects tested as part of the high-impact near-mine and regional drilling program. The company’s drilling programs had targeted near-mine and regional volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) copper-zinc and nickel-copper targets around its flagship Prieska Copper-Zinc Project.
Orion said that the results confirm the under-explored nature of the Areachap Province and the substantial opportunity for a major discovery, both in the near-mine environment around the fully-permitted Prieska Copper-Zinc Project, and the broader region.
The company said that a key focus will be the greenfields Boksputs Project where a deep diamond drill hole had reported initial assays including 5m at 1.09% Cu and 0.13g/t Au from 393.00m and 1m at 2.25% Cu and 0.32g/t Au from 498.45m.
ORN said that other priority near-mine opportunity included the Kielder Project and Jacomynspan, another promising growth opportunity for the Company.
Drilling at Northern Cape
The company had undertaken drilling during the December 2020 Quarter on the Prieska Copper-Zinc Mine (PCZM), Namaqua-Disawell and Masiqhame prospecting rights, including the K3 and K6 prospects at the Kielder Project within the Dooniespan Prospecting Right, the Jacomynspan and Area 4 prospects within the Namaqua-Disawell Prospecting Right, the B4 anomaly on the Boksputs Prospect and at the Kantienpan Prospect on the Masiqhame Prospecting Right.
Orion has now announced a highly encouraging exploration update from the pre-Christmas drilling.
Numerous zones of VMS copper mineralisation at Boksputs
The company reported that the Boksputs prospect was tested with 12 shallow diamond drill holes.
Orion said that at the B4 EM anomaly within the Boksputs prospect, a deep diamond drill hole intersected numerous zones of VMS copper mineralisation across multiple horizons, with initial assays including 5m at 1.09% Cu and 0.13g/t Au from 393.00m and 1m at 2.25% Cu and 0.32g/t Au from 498.45m.
Significant assay results received to date are as shown below.
Exploration to be accelerated
ORN said that based on the encouraging results so far, the company intend to substantially accelerate exploration at Boksputs, including a further deep diamond drill hole to test a strong 3000S EM conductor 3km to the north at the other end of the syncline, along with surface EM and RC drilling across the entire strike length of the structure.
High-grade base metal mineralisation at Kielder
The company had commenced drilling at the K3 and K6 prospects within the Kielder project to verify the historically reported results in historical drill holes KDH3 and KDH15, as well as to provide a platform for modern high-powered DHEM surveys.
The company said that the drilling intersected shallow high-grade base metal mineralisation, validating historical results and elevating Kielder as a priority near-mine opportunity.
Recent drill results over selected intervals, compared to historically reported intercepts on Kielder are as shown below.
OKD031 was drilled 10m down-dip from KDH3 and intersected 9.39m at 0.14% Cu, 3.41% Zn, and 0.14g/t Au from 174.73m, including 4.81m at 0.14% Cu and 4.49% Zn from 189.16m; OKD032, drilled 25m from KDH3, intersected 3.9m at 0.30% Cu, 7.87% Zn, 10g/t Ag and 0.16g/t Au from 123.2m and 2.21m at 0.70% Cu, 1.70% Zn, 36g/t Ag and 0.20g/t Au from 129.94m; and OKD033 was drilled 10m from historical hole KDH2 and showed potential high variability in the mineralisation at K3.
Multiple zones of shallow higher-grade Ni-Cu-Co-PGE-Au mineralisation at Jacomynspan
The company said that Jacomynspan nickel-copper prospect is another promising growth opportunity for the Company, as the drilling intersected multiple zones of shallow higher-grade Ni-Cu-Co-PGE-Au mineralisation that may have importance for open pit mining potential and secured samples for metallurgical test work.
Drill hole OJPD054 was completed to test the potential of shallow Ni-Cu-Co-PGE- Au mineralisation on the Jacomynspan prospect.
Intersections for drill hole OJPD054 are as below.
Jacomynspan hosts a Mineral Resource of 6.8Mt at 0.57% Ni, 0.33% Cu, 0.03% Co, 0.19g/t Pt, 0.12g/t Pd, 0.07g/t Au.
Further work
The company said that the sampling and assaying of samples will be the next step.
