Hillgrove Resources reports high-grade results and expansion potential at SA copper mine

• HGO reports high-grade copper and gold from Emily Star prospect at Kanmantoo copper mine
• The prospect presents further mining front expansion potential at the project
• Company also just announced extensions at Nugent, where first production is pending

Special Report: Hillgrove Resources has flagged high-grade copper-gold in the first underground drill hole at the Emily Star prospect at its Kanmantoo copper mine in South Australia.

Expecting to produce as much as 11,500 tonnes of copper through 2025, the company is confident in the exploration upside for its Kanmantoo operation – Tuesday announcing high-grade copper-gold extensions at Nugent as it prepares the orebody for first production and a new feed source for the mine.

Now, results from Emily Star have returned:

• 6.3m at 1.76% copper and 0.12g/t gold from 425.15m downhole;
• 19.1m at 1.91% copper and 0.15g/t gold from 500m downhole; and
• 5.7m at 2.12% copper and 0.36g/t gold from 531m downhole.

Hillgrove Resources (ASX:HGO) says these results have identified the mineralisation corridors between Emily Star and Nugent and provided better information on the width and grade of Emily Star due to the improved drill angle from the underground drill site.

“The results from the first hole are excellent, with the average intercept grades over double the average Mineral Resource Estimate for Emily Star,” managing director and CEO Bob Fulker said.

“The three known Emily Star lenses are clearly observed and, due to the drill angle, the significant lode widths and geometries are becoming clearer.

“Emily Star represents the next organic opportunity in our pipeline after Nugent that, if developed, will allow us to further utilise our existing plant capacity and drive down unit costs.”

Other intersections of interest from the Critchley prospect included 3m at 0.70% copper and 0.11g/t gold from 251m downhole, and the Paringa prospect returned 2.7m at 0.40% copper and 0.01g/t gold from 124.3m downhole.

More mining fronts for Kanmantoo

Drilling targeting the extent of the Emily Star zone is ongoing with observations being used to plan future drill holes and to design a drill platform to specifically target Emily Star from the Nugent Decline.

“The Emily Star diamond drill program has been a high priority focus of the team, with the acceleration of Nugent, and development of the 1010 Nugent Diamond Drill platform, allowing us to commence drilling for Emily Star,” Fulker said.

“Emily Star is a stacked mineralisation lode that has the potential to deliver multiple additional mining fronts at Kanmantoo.

“Along with Nugent, it has the potential to deliver a material increase in mining rates.

“Having successfully executed the acceleration of Nugent, these results at Emily Star give us confidence that we will continue to expand our production at Kanmantoo,” Fulker concluded.

This article was developed in collaboration with Hillgrove Resources, 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.