Base Metals: Emmerson firms up open cut potential of NT copper-gold project

Emmerson Resources (ASX:ERM) has discovered a new zone of shallow copper mineralisation at its wholly-owned Mauretania project in the Northern Territory.

Final results from its recent drill program included the intersection of a new 22m zone grading 0.84 per cent copper, 0.04 grams per tonne (g/t) gold and 5.2g/t silver from 88m, with higher grade zones of 2m at 1.56 per cent copper from 88m and 2m at 3.11 per cent copper from 10m.

Re-assayed results have also proven the existence of a thick upper oxide gold zone from a hole that returned a 15m hit grading 2.28g/t gold just 57m below surface that included 3m at 5.24g/t gold from 68m.

The same hole also returned a hit of 1m at 5.75g/t gold and 1.39 per cent copper from a separate zone.

“The thick intercepts of gold and now copper at shallow levels provides great encouragement that Mauretania will be a viable open cut mine,” managing director Rob Bills said.

Meanwhile, ASX newcomer Cobre (ASX:CBE) has kicked off drilling at its Perrinvale project in Western Australia to follow up on volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) base metal and gold mineralisation it intersected in 2019.

Its initial drilling had returned hits of up to 5m at 9.75 per cent copper, 3.2g/t gold, 34g/t silver and 3.1 per cent zinc from a depth of 50m.

A subsequent airborne survey identified 10 potential VMS prospects.

The company’s current drill program will include about 1,000m of diamond drilling at the Schwabe, Zinco Lago and Monti prospects to extend the high-grade VMS mineralisation.

In other ASX base metals news today:

Tanga Resources (ASX:TRL) has started diamond drilling to follow up on previous drilling at the Main Gossan within its Hagenhof copper project in Namibia.

Three diamond holes targeting a conductor defined by a recent electromagnetic survey will be drilled down to about 220m to test the depth extent of known copper mineralisation. Previous drilling had returned a top hit of 9m at 1.1 per cent copper from 119m within a broader zone of 17m at 0.82 per cent copper from 111m.