Reward Minerals (ASX:RWD) report that it is planning follow-up drilling exploration at the company’s McKay Range Farm-in and Joint Venture (FJV) Project with Fortescue Metals (ASX:FMG), located in the East Pilbara region of Western Australia.
The company states exploration going forward on the project will involve completion of drill site rehabilitation, analysis of thin sections and petrographic reports, as well as a data review.
The decision follows ‘encouraging’ copper (Cu) results from its first pass reverse circulation (RC) drilling program, which consisted of 7 RC holes drilled for about 1,338m in the December quarter of 2022.
“There appears to be significant scope for further drilling once all data is collated”
Results include 5m @ 0.15% Cu from 212m including 1m @ 0.52% Cu from 216m in hole MO0004; and 2m @ 0.13% Cu from 202m in hole MO0005.
Commenting on the drill results, Reward Minerals Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Lorry Hughes said: “Considering the drilling program was first pass and completed at a very broad spacing, it is encouraging for Fortescue to have intersected anomalous copper mineralisation.
There appears to be significant scope for further drilling once all data is collated. We wish Fortescue every success with their future follow-up exploration programs.”
The aim of the program was to test the stratigraphy to the south of the McKay Dome to determine if a regionally reduced unit exists with the potential to host a sedimentary copper mineral system.
The targeted unit was uncovered by Fortescue using geological, geochemical, and geophysical datasets acquired since the joint venture began in 2019.
A total of 764 samples were dispatched to a Perth laboratory for chemical analyses of a suite of elements to complement field-generated portable XRF analyses of the 1m RC chips.
The McKay FJV Project is a joint venture between Reward Minerals and FMG Resources, a wholly owned subsidiary of Fortescue Metals.
The project tenure covers over 480km-square and the program is the first drilling for base and precious metals to be completed within the tenure.
Reward Minerals is an ASX-listed, potash-focussed exploration and development company. The company’s flagship project is its wholly owned Lake Disappointment Sulphate of Potash Project, located 380km east of Newman in the Little Sandy Desert of north-western Western Australia.
