RareX Limited (ASX: REE) and JV partner Kincora Copper Ltd (TSXV: KCC) has announced an encouraging update on the drilling at the Trundle project in NSW.
The company reported that the first hole of the current drill program at Trundle Park target has intersected multiple mineralised zones including shallow 28 metre interval from 55 metres.
REE said that the hole confirms the targeted setting of skarn and adjacent porphyry intrusion, analogous to Cadia and multiple other world-class porphyries.
The company noted that the prospectivity and scale of the target zone were significantly expanded at Trundle Park, the first of three targets of the ongoing drilling program.
Trundle project
The Trundle Project is located on EL8222, in the Macquarie Arc of the Lachlan Fold Belt in central west New South Wales. Within EL8222, RareX is 35% free carried in a JV with Kincora Copper until pre-feasibility study is completed.
The Trundle Project is located 30km west of the China Molybdenum Company Limited operated Northparkes copper-gold project, which is Australia’s second largest porphyry mine. Trundle is the only brownfield project held by a listed junior in Australia’s foremost porphyry belt.
Trundle hosts the inferred westerly rift of the Northparkes Igneous Complex with extensive evidence of porphyry and skarn-style copper-gold mineralisation across a 12.5km strike associated with Ordovician intrusive centres similar to the Northparkes and Cadia deposits and mines.
Historical drilling
Past explorer drilling within the Trundle project was extensive with the completion of 2208 holes for 61,146 metres but deeper drilling into the basement utilising modern exploration knowledge was very limited. Nearly 92% of historical drilling at Trundle Project was limited to 50 metres depth, with just 11 holes beyond 300 metres.
One of the significant targets within the Trundle project includes the Trundle Park prospect which sits within the southern portion of the Trundle Project license. Two other importnat targets include the Bayleys target and Mordialloc target.
These systems were not drilled since Induced Polarisation survey’s, including HPX’s proprietary Typhoon system, and magnetic modelling was completed.
Drilling at Trundle project
The company had recently commenced phase 1 drilling program at the Trundle Project. The first phase drilling program was planned for six holes for 3,800 metres, testing three known mineralized targets, Trundle Park, Mordiallic, and Bayleys, seeking to discover a new cluster of porphyry deposits.
Previous assay results at Trundle Park had included a higher-grade interval of 2 meter at 20g/t gold, 6.97% copper, and 81g/t sliver from 64 meters.
The company reported that the first hole of drill program at Trundle Park target, TRDD001, has intersected multiple mineralised zones.
Encouraging results from TRDD001
The company said that the first diamond drill hole, TRDD001, at the Trundle Park target within the Trundle project was completed at 685 meters depth.
REE announced that the hole TRDD001 has confirmed the targeted setting of an adjacent porphyry system to a near surface skarn, analogous to Cadia and multiple other world-class porphyries.
Highly mineralized multiple skarn zones
RareX announced that highly mineralized and multiple skarn zones were intersected at Trundle Park. This includes 28 meters of visually interpreted moderate mineralization from 55 meters, including a higher-grade 6.5meter interval.
The company said that an adjacent monzonite and monzodiorite intrusion was intersected with disseminated chalcopyrite and pyrite supportive of proximity to a potential higher-grade porphyry system/core.
REE noted that the skarn and porphyry intrusion system setting is analogous to Cadia where the Big and Little Cadia skarns were mined and were important to the discovery of multiple adjacent deposits that make up the largest porphyry system in Australia.
Follow-up drill hole planned
REE said that the average depth of prior drilling at the Trundle Park target is only 28 metres, and a high priority follow up hole is planned post assay results for TRDD001.
Drilling commences at Mordialloc
REE announced that drilling has commenced at the Mordialloc target, approximately 12.5 km north of Trundle Park.
At Mordialloc, previous drilling had returned metal grades comparable to the peripheral parts of the Northparkes deposits, with improving grades down hole, open and coincident with an untested deeper geophysical target.
Next steps
REE said that the exploration is ongoing and the exploration activities would be undertaken by Kincora Copper, the Company’s joint venture partner.
Management statements
John Holliday, Chairman of Kincora’s Technical Committee, and Peter Leaman, Senior Vice-President of Exploration, said: “While early days in our ongoing drilling program, and awaiting assay results, multiple noteworthy positive developments have been achieved from the first hole at Trundle Park.
The zones of moderate to higher grade mineralised skarn intersected are thicker than expected, illustrating significant magmatic fluids associated with the adjacent porphyry intrusion system.
The mineral zonation in the well-developed and quite intense skarns supports, and may provide vectors to, a primary porphyry orebody target within the porphyry intrusion system.
The visual results of this hole confirm our exploration model and significantly increases both the scale and prospectivity of Trundle Park, with multiple large targets for follow up.”