According to a report on the MiningNews.net website, Litchfield Minerals announced preliminary assay results from a drill hole at its Oonagalabi project in the Northern Territory of Australia, attracting market attention.
Logging of the core and handheld XRF analyzer data indicate that this hole, targeting an induced polarization (IP) anomaly on the western side of Oonagalabi, intersected 104 meters of ore from surface with a copper equivalent grade of 1.37%.
High-grade mineralization was encountered within the disseminated sulfide ore body, including an intersection of 21 meters at a depth of 144 meters with a copper equivalent grade of 2.26%, comprising copper 1.81%, zinc 1.58%, and lead 0.03%.
The handheld XRF data are consistent with the widespread visual observation of chalcopyrite, sphalerite, and galena.
More detailed sample assay results in four weeks will further define the base metal, as well as gold and silver mineralization.
Preliminary reverse circulation drilling by the company outlined gold-silver-bismuth mineralization, indicating secondary overprinting, potentially representing a Tennant Creek-style iron oxide-copper-gold system.
Company manager Matthew Pustahya stated that previous drilling suggested even higher assay grades. Regardless of the actual results, it is clear that the ore possesses both high grade and substantial volume.
"Every hole drilled to date has intersected copper mineralization, confirming the scale and continuity of the ore body," he said.
"Encountering high-grade mineralization in a low-conductivity environment is particularly significant, expanding our exploration potential within the larger system."
Drilling progress was hampered by poor ground conditions, equipment logistics, and the technical characteristics of the targets. Despite this, the results are encouraging, even though the first hole at the Bomb Diggity prospect did not reach the Target 20P.
One drill rig is currently deployed at the large VT2 conductor, a high-conductivity anomaly for Litchfield. Other rigs have moved to the VT1 conductor, where recent assays of surface gossan samples returned gold, silver, copper, and tellurium.
Oonagalabi was not originally part of Litchfield's project portfolio but was acquired from the delisted exploration enterprise Comet Resources 12 months ago. It quickly became a focus for the enterprise, as work indicated significant potential for this known large-tonnage, medium-grade copper-zinc deposit, which had seen no drilling since 1981.
Geophysical data acquired in 2008 suggested that most previous drilling had missed the main IP anomalies.
The company plans a 14-hole drilling program targeting 14 prioritized sulfide targets, including several stratabound ore bodies at Oonagalabi and the 3-kilometer-long Bomb Diggity magnetic anomaly.
The Bombedgit deposit lacks outcrops and was delineated by magnetic surveys only in H2 of last year.
Recent mapping has revealed a continuous outcrop of the Onagalabi Formation, stretching 3 kilometers between Silverado and Bombedgit, indicating that the formation is more extensive than previously thought.
