Base Metals: Alkane’s Boda prospect is looking mighty fine with another big hit

Shares in Alkane Resources’ (ASX:ALK) climbed more than 16 per cent this morning after it hit yet another thick intersection of porphyry copper-gold at its Boda prospect within the Northern Molong porphyry project in New South Wales.

The discovery of the Boda prospect kicked off a wave of excitement back in September last year among investors and nearby explorers after Alkane hit paydirt with a 502m intercept grading 0.48 grams per tonne (g/t) gold and 0.2 per cent copper, 211m from surface.

Now, a diamond core hole drilled 200m below that zone of previously defined copper-gold mineralisation has intersected 689m of porphyry mineralisation grading 0.46g/t gold and 0.19 per cent copper from 402m.

This includes a higher grade intersection of 312m at 0.7g/t gold and 0.19 per cent copper from 402m as well as a peak interval of 12m at 4.38g/t gold and 0.75 per cent copper from 564m.

The drilling is part of a 5,000m drilling program to test the depth and strike extensions to the porphyry copper-gold mineralisation at Boda.

Alkane said after making its first big hit that there was “several apparent similarities” between Boda and the upper sections of Newcrest Mining’s (ASX:NCM) nearby Cadia East deposit.

“These drill results give us further encouragement that the Boda Prospect is a significant discovery,” managing director Nic Earner said.

“The continuation of grade at depth and the consistency of mineralisation are further evidence of a big porphyry system.”

Alkane’s Northern Molong project is located close to the major regional centres of Dubbo and Orange, which along with Parkes and Wellington, service several major mines in the district.

In other ASX base metals news today:

Ausmex (ASX:AMG) says it’s drilling an anomaly at Burra in South Australia which is “similar in scale and character” to BHP’s (ASX:BHP) Olympic Dam, 380km away. The company has received initial drilling results from its Princess Royal prospect. Ausmex says the drilling has intersected rare earth elements and indicator minerals for a large alkaline, ultramafic mineral system above Conductive Target 1.

Golden Cross Resources (ASX:GCR) has completed the acquisition of the Coppervale property containing the Coppervale field base that it says is an integral part of its Copper Hill project in New South Wales. The field base is the main access route to the project, hosts site office facilities as well as ad hoc accommodation for field personnel and facilitates core and sample storage and processing.