Alicanto appears to have intersected an intrusion-related copper proximal skarn system after drilling at the Stone Lake target hit high-grade copper. 

The second hole at Stone Lake returned a narrow, but very copper-rich intersection grading 5.92 per cent copper and 4.6 parts per million silver from 124.2m to 124.47m within a broader 0.92m interval at 1.92 per cent copper and 1.3ppm silver.

Alicanto Minerals (ASX:AQI) notes that this hole also intersected native copper and that the combination of high-grade mineralisation and the significant alteration footprint underlines the area’s prospectivity for copper-gold skarn mineralised bodies.

Stone Lake is less than 10km northwest of the historical Falun deposit in Sweden that is interpreted by the company as a ‘tight’ polymetallic skarn deposit.

It is one of several similar prospects being drilled as part of the current 20,000m program at Greater Falun.

“This is a highly promising result. The intersected mineralisation, together with its textbook skarn alteration, strongly indicates that we have identified another intrusion-related copper skarn system, less than 10km away from the world-class Falun deposit,” managing director Peter George said.

“The semi-massive character of the intersected proximal copper-skarn system, some 80m beneath historic workings with similar mineralisation, in combination with the most intense, proximal and prograde skarn alteration so far encountered at Greater Falun, highlights the potential for significant mineralisation nearby.”

Alicanto added the identification of Stone Lake as an intrusion-related copper skarn system is entirely consistent with the geological model it has developed for Greater Falun.

Follow-up geophysics, including ground magnetic surveys and down-hole electromagnetic work, is now underway in a bid to identify nearby copper-gold and polymetallic skarn mineralisation.

alicanto minerals stone lake model copper greater falun
Conceptual model of the Stone Lake copper skarn system. Pic: Supplied

Greater Falun

The Greater Falun project that Alicanto acquired in January 2020 includes the historical Falun mine that has produced 500,000 tonnes of zinc at 5%, 400,000 tonnes of copper at 4%, 160,000 tonnes of lead at 2%, 380,000 tonnes of silver at 35 grams per tonne and 5 tonnes of gold at 4g/t over its 1000-year life.

Despite this, the broader area is still believed to hold considerable potential, especially since Alicanto believes that previous interpretations were barking up the wrong tree.

Rather than the previously held view that Greater Falun is a volcanogenic massive sulphide system, the company thinks the project is actually a skarn-hosted system and its work to date seems to back up this theory.

Small wonder that the company will soon have three rigs operating in the area to build a more detailed picture of the project.

 

 

This article was developed in collaboration with Alicanto Minerals, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

 

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.

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