Home » Latest News » Compelling drill targets revealed near Prominent Hill mine
Latest News

Compelling drill targets revealed near Prominent Hill mine

Compelling drill targets revealed near Prominent Hill mine

 

• Ground EM surveys close to Prominent Hill copper-gold mine (South Australia) completed
• Data reveals four strong basement conductors along a regional shear structure
• Conductive bodies are at shallow depths
• Drill planning underway in conjunction with Prominent Hill Alliance partner OZ Minerals; drilling
expected to commence in October
• Minotaur entering a period of intense operational activity through to end of calendar year with:
• drilling to commence at Eloise JV (also with OZ Minerals) around 3 October; and
• Ground EM and target definition to proceed at Osborne JV (with JOGMEC) in October-November
Minotaur Exploration Ltd advises completion of an extensive ground electromagnetic
survey along parts of the Skylark Shear Zone near the Prominent Hill copper-gold mine, as part
of the Minotaur and OZ Minerals Ltd Alliance. The EM survey follows on from ‘proof of concept’
Iron Sulphide Copper Gold drilling late in 2016 which successfully tested a number of ground EM
conductors in the project area

The September 2017 EM survey occurred in three parts: the main survey area comprised a 15km section of
the SSZ northwest of Prominent Hill mine, across multiple structures; a small infill survey was completed at
‘Bellatrix East’ to better define the EM anomaly highlighted there in 2016, just east of ISCG mineralisation
intersected in hole DD16TUR016 at ‘Bellatrix West’; and a 3km section at the south-eastern end of the SSZ, in
a complex structural setting, covered the ‘Jindivic’ target.
The survey returned two basement conductors northwest of and within 22km of the mine. Separately, at Bellatrix East, new data confirms the status of the EM anomaly defined there from the 2016 survey and, with better resolution, also shows an additional adjacent conductor (both anomalies appear as one in Figure 1). Anomalous responses derived from the EM data potentially indicate the presence of conductive sulphide minerals (such as pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite; the latter a copper sulphide form). No anomalism was located at Jindivik.

Details of the four EM conductors are as follows:
Maverick: comprises a conductor 130m in length, modelled to be 135m below surface, with depth extent of
130m and conductivity of 2000 Siemens (S). The anomaly lies in a favorable structural setting on the edge of
the southern margin of the SSZ. No prior drilling is recorded in the vicinity of the anomaly.
Nexus: comprises a single plate conductor 330m in length, modelled to be 180m below surface, with depth
extent of 200m and very high conductance of around 4900S. The anomaly also lies in a favorable structural
setting at the juncture of an interpreted large northwest striking fault on the southern margin of the SSZ and
an east-west linking fault. No prior drilling is recorded in the vicinity of the anomaly.
Bellatrix East: a two-plate anomaly comprising: a larger plate modelled to be 400m in length, at 130m below
surface, with depth extent of 400m and a conductivity of 1700S; and a second ‘new’ plate modelled to be
200m in length, at 115m below surface with depth extent of 150m and very high conductance of around
5000S. Some historic drilling in the area exhibited minor copper mineralisation and strong hydrothermal
alteration but no holes intersected the EM conductors.

The Alliance partners are currently reviewing the inversion models and considering target selection for
drilling. A drilling budget and work plan will be developed with intentions that rig mobilisation can be
secured during October.

Add Comment

Click here to post a comment