Alma expands Briggs copper-molybdenum mineralisation yet again

Further assays from Alma Metals’ core drilling at the Briggs copper project in Queensland have extended the copper-molybdenum sulphide mineralisation for the third time in as many months.

The drilling is testing exploration targets (together an estimated 370Mt – 695Mt at 0.2% to 0.35% Cu) at the Northern and Central Porphyry areas, and in late Feb, the company reported a second, 536.5m deep hole into Northern Porphyry had intersected “multiple mineralised porphyritic intrusions”.

It is ~150m away from hole one, which pulled up almost continuous copper mineralisation from surface (441.5m @ 0.21% copper from 8m down-hole depth to end-of-hole) with the hole ending in mineralisation grading 0.34% copper over the bottom 3.5m.

These latest assays flagged further mineralisation in multiple holes over a ‘significant’ strike length and returned:

227m at 0.20% copper from 308m including 62.7m at 0.28% copper from 466m (22BRD0014); and
323.9m at 0.20% copper and 95ppm Mo from 8.1m including 40m at 0.33% copper and 131ppm Mo from 22m (22BRD0015).

Assays for the remaining 270m of drill hole 22BRD0015 are expected in May.

Resource upgrade could be the go

Alma Metals (ASX:ALM) is making good on its deal with Canterbury Resources (ASX:CBY) to earn up to 70% of the project by spending up to $15.25m on exploration over nine years, and has its sights set on an easy-mining, shallow porphyry deposit.

Porphyry mines are huge, responsible for ~60 per cent of the world’s copper, most of the molybdenum, and significant amounts of gold and silver and their large volumes make up for the low grades, typically between 0.2% to 0.7% copper equivalent.

Drill intersections containing >0.2% Cu have now been recorded over more than 1650m strike-length within the ~2000m long >0.1% Cu surface geochemical anomaly.

The company says drill hole 23BRD0015 is the most significant molybdenum drill intersection on the project to date – the economic significance of which will be evaluated once further metallurgical studies have been undertaken.

Notably, the copper mineralisation in the hole is 190m to the north of the Briggs Central Inferred Resource “and is likely to support a significant resource upgrade once further drilling has been completed,” the company said.

This article was developed in collaboration with Alma Metals, 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.