Drilling at Québec-focused Pivotal Metals’ (ASX:PVT) copper-dominant Horden Lake Project has demonstrated the potential for resource growth in all three directions.
Additionally, all intersections show mineralisation of gold, silver, platinum group metals and cobalt, which have never previously been assayed.
Results from a further four holes returned a peak hit of 10.2m @ 2.3% copper equivalent, which was hosted within a wider 28.6m @ 1.05% copper equivalent from 74m.
Pivotal says these latest results expand the width of expected mineralisation in the open pit zone of the deposit.
Meanwhile, assays from hole HN-24-104 of 14.6m @ 0.84% copper equivalent from 272m, including 5.7m @ 1.41%, have confirmed continuity of mineralisation 270m down plunge, linking up to a previously reported drill hole.
Another hole testing this down-plunge continuity returned 7.3m @ 0.78% copper equivalent from 165m, and 13.2m @ 0.77% from 180.1m.
Managing Director Ivan Fairhall says deeper drilling and downhole electromagnetics (DHEM) again combine to demonstrate down plunge continuity of the deposit, and the “huge” potential for it to continue at depth.
“We now have a zone over 600m extending the mineralisation strike length that exhibits strong potential for expansive down-plunge extension with further drilling, potentially similar to that observed in the central zone which extends to over 490m vertical (and remains open),” he says.
DHEM surveys were conducted to determine future exploration potential and targeting.
The plates continue to extend the mineralised zones and connect with previously reported drilling and plates in three earlier holes, which indicates the potential for the southern zone mineralisation continuity from the central zone.
Infill drilling, which is aimed at filling in the gaps in the resource model between drill holes – in this case to gather missing byproduct information – has also demonstrated continuity of mineralisation within the 2022 resource open pit shell.
Results from this drilling featured 15.6m @ 0.88% copper equivalent from 121m, including 5.7m @ 1.41% in hole HN-24-101.
“Horden Lake continues to deliver as we infill and step-out from historical drilling,” Fairhall says.
“In the shallow areas, results indicate excellent continuity, in places widening, of expected mineralisation, along with a suite of valuable byproducts which were overlooked in previous drilling.”
According to Pivotal, these byproducts are typically payable metals in copper and nickel concentrates and represent “significant upside” to the average grade of the deposit.
Preliminary metallurgical testwork demonstrates the potential for good recoveries across the payable metals in the Horden Lake deposit.
Historical testwork produced copper concentrates grading 22-30% copper at recoveries ranging from 85-96%.
The most recent drilling provided Pivotal with samples to undertake further metallurgical testwork.
The company is currently working towards a resource update and the completion of metallurgical testwork.
Horden Lake, which was discovered by Inco in the 1960s, is located 131km north-northwest of Matagami in Québec and currently hosts an indicated and inferred resource of 28 million tonnes @ 1.5% copper equivalent.
At the time Inco owned the project it was remote, with access only possible via float plane or helicopter.
Inco focused solely on the nickel and copper content, without assaying for other metals. Given the difficult access, metal prices, and Inco’s primary focus on the larger Sudbury Nickel Camp, the project did not advance, with Inco working only sporadically on it into the 1970s.
Over 52,000m of drilling has been undertaken over the years. Inco completed 32,229m, and subsequent drilling programs by Southampton and El Condor in 2008 and 2012 accounted for a further 18,136m and 2,037m respectively.
The most recent campaign comprised 7,097m of diamond drilling across 34 holes.
Assays from 21 holes remain pending, including multiple step-out and DHEM results across zones of open mineralisation.
“We are very active right now at Horden Lake, which is a new story for the ASX, and sits in a small peer group of credible developable copper projects,” Fairhall told Mining.com.au last week, ahead of this week’s Noosa Mining Investor Conference.
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Write to Angela East at Mining.com.au
Images: Pivotal Metals
