Rincon Resources (ASX:RCR) has received drilling results that it says confirm the expansion opportunity at the Pokali copper-gold target, part of the West Arunta Project in Western Australia, but has also uncovered “significant” rare earths at two other prospects.
At Pokali East, five holes were drilled to confirm historical intersections and assist in confirming the current iron-oxide-copper-gold (IOCG) model, the vertical orientation of copper lodes, and to collect essential assay data for IOCG alteration mapping and targeting at depth.
Rincon Resources, which has a market capitalisation of $7.6 million, says all five drillholes returned “significant” copper, with intercepts such as 212m @ 0.23% copper (plus gold, silver, bismuth and cobalt credits) from 2m; and 4m @ 3.87% copper, 0.6 grams per tonne (g/t) gold, 4.1g/t silver, 1,762 parts per million (ppm) bismuth and 83ppm cobalt from 48m.
The company adds total rare earth oxide (TREO) mineralisation was also uncovered in oxide and fresh rock — which is possibly related to a major syenite intrusion complex at the Sheoak and K2 targets.
Some of the drilling results from these targets include 2m @ 6,164ppm TREO within a mineralised zone of 6m @ 3,223ppm TREO from 14m; and 2m @ 3,103ppm TREO within a mineralised zone of 8m @ 1,397ppm TREO from 118m.
At the Avalon target, drilling also confirmed the presence of a shallow supergene zone of elevated TREO mineralisation that has developed above a calc-alkaline mafic-ultramafic complex.
Intercepts include 2m @ 2,440ppm TREO from 44m and 4m @ 1,871ppm TREO from 38m.
Managing Director Gary Harvey says after completing drilling, the company has now also had the opportunity to complete some necessary validation drilling at Pokali East and properly assess all the results received to date for this season’s drill campaigns.
“The twinning of several historic holes and two untested locations at Pokali East has provided valuable QAQC (quality assurance and quality control) data for future resource modelling and served to assist in confirming our IOCG mineralisation model by adding essential geochemical data for our IOCG alteration mapping program,” Harvey says.
“When you drill next to another hole, you usually expect to get similar results; however, the key takeaway is that our interpretation and understanding of the mineral system is coming together, and the potential for a significant multi-million tonne copper resource is now a real possibility.
“Other than at Pokali, the biggest surprise is the discovery of significant TREO mineralisation at Sheoak and K2, found in both shallow oxide zones at Sheoak, and in fresh rock at K2.”
Harvey says it is possible that the rare earth mineralisation may be related to the major synthetic intrusive complex intersected in the Sheoak diamond hole, which is more “significant” due to the syenites hosting rare earths deposits and sometimes coexists with carbonatites.
“We are still also expecting more results from diamond drilling at Avalon, Sheoak and K1, in the coming weeks that will be reported on separately when these results are in,” he says.
“The drilling results from the Avalon gravity target turned out to show that the gravity anomaly represented a heavy mafic-ultramafic complex, and despite the development of a thin layer of supergene enrichment with elevated TREO, the absence of a carbonatite and negligible niobium means for now, there is no further work warranted at Avalon as other targets have become higher priority.”
The assay results for diamond hole 24WARC013D at the Avalon target are expected by mid-October 2024. Meanwhile, two drillholes from the Sheoak and K1 targets are being processed for sampling.
The West Arunta Project covers 200km2 within the Central Australian Suture (CAS) zone in the West Arunta province of Western Australia. The CAS represents a preserved subduction zone and has seen an increase in exploration activity with the recent discovery of the Grapple base metal prospect.
Rincon Resources is a diversified mineral explorer focused primarily on copper, gold, niobium, rare earths, and critical metals in Western Australia.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: iStock & Rincon Resources
