Follow up drilling by Cohiba at its Horse Well project in South Australia has confirmed the persistence of copper and gold as well as delivered more high-grade mineralisation.
Cohiba Minerals (ASX:CHK) today revealed the results of drill hole HWDD05, which returned a combined length of 185.16m of mineralised core that included grades of up to 10.85% copper, 5.31 grams per tonne (g/t) gold and 20.6g/t silver.
The hole was drilled to follow up the mineralisation that was encountered in previous drill hole HWDD04, which in March last year unearthed top grades of up to 12.15% copper, 2.62g/t gold and 42.5g/t silver.
This prompted Cohiba to embark on a multi-million-dollar exploration campaign, with 2022 set to be its busiest year yet.
The longest intersection reported from hole HWDD05 was 114.66m at 0.37% copper, 0.25g/t gold and 1g/t silver from 1095.34m. This included intercepts of 1m at 0.85% copper, 5.31g/t gold and 6.65g/t silver from 1,123.5m, and 0.8m at 10.85% copper, 2.94g/t gold and 20.6g/t silver from 1,199m.
Other notable results included 2m at 5.2g/t gold from 928m and 47m at 0.18% copper, 0.18g/t gold and 1.06g/t silver from 965m, including 0.4m at 1.7% copper, 2.01g/t gold and 2.57g/t silver from 992.6m.
CEO Andrew Graham said the results from the latest drill hole provided further confirmation that Cohiba was drilling in the right location.
“The mineralisation is becoming more pervasive, and we have seen a considerable increase in gold and silver mineralisation as well as copper,” he said.
“Given that HWDD05 was angled from HWDD04 (same collar location) even a small step out has returned significantly improved results.”
An initial technical review of the drill core showed that the mineralisation, brecciation and alteration styles in some of the mafic units were typical of an iron oxide-copper-gold (IOCG) deposit.
mineralisation at 1,159m (assayed 3.21% copper and 1.15g/t gold)
The structural history of the veins reflected the “big picture” structural evolution of the Olympic Dam Breccia Complex (ODBC) with early shear and late dilational characteristics.
HWDD05 also showed a strong spatial correlation between iron, copper, gold, silver and a reasonably good correlation with uranium, which are key characteristics of the ODBC, Cohiba noted.
IOCG deposits can be massive and high-grade concentrations of copper, gold, and other economic minerals. BHP’s (ASX:BHP) Olympic Dam mine, located 560km north of Adelaide and not far from Cohiba’s Olympic Domain project that hosts the Horse Well prospect, is one of the world’s most significant deposits of copper, gold, silver and uranium.
“We have also continued to apply considerable technical expertise on understanding the petrology, mineralogy, alteration styles and structures as these are critically important to understanding IOCG deposits and subsequent drill hole positioning,” Graham said.
“The considerable effort invested in this technical analysis will enable the company to optimise its drilling programs for maximum success.”
Cohiba will undertake further petrological, mineralogical and alteration studies to enhance its understanding of the Horse Well prospect and to assist with future drill hole targeting.
This article was developed in collaboration with Cohiba 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.