Although assays are still to come, ongoing drilling at Impact’s Apsley copper-gold prospect in NSW has indicated that some of the strongest alteration is in the centre of the target area.

Drilling to test a number of coincident induced polarisation geophysical and geochemical anomalies that are prospective for porphyry copper-gold deposits has intersected a wide variety of porphyry, volcanic and variably carbonaceous sedimentary rocks.

Most of these rocks dip west at shallow to moderate angles though the porphyry units may have a steeper dip in some places, indicating that they may be later cross-cutting intrusions.

Impact Minerals (ASX:IPT) notes the rocks contained disseminated pyrite and very fine grained, weak to moderately disseminated copper-bearing minerals in zones up to 60 metres thick.

Additionally, there is strong K-feldspar alteration in places, particularly in hole APIPT001, which has returned a 60m thick intersection of altered porphyritic rock

The company plans to drill follow-up holes targeting the strong alteration in the central area as part of the current program along with testing three further targets.

Measurements of major elements such as potassium, aluminium, iron and calcium with handheld XRF, which provides a good idea of what’s present, indicates widespread alteration typical of the outer distal zones of a porphyry copper system along with more localised zones of potassic alteration typical of the inner more proximal zones of such systems.

Highlighting this, the upper zones of Alkane Resources’ (ASX:ALK) nearby Boda-Kaiser discovery are characterised by weak to modest alteration and gold-dominant mineralisation with significant copper and gold only appearing at depth in a steeply dipping system.

Laboratory assays are now pending for precious and base metals content within the nine reverse circulation scout holes totalling 2,500m that have been drilled to date.

Apsley prospect

The Apsley prospect within the company’s Commonwealth project in New South Wales’ famed Lachlan Fold Belt is a large soil geochemistry anomaly that has a core zone about 2,000m long and 500m wide which is defined by copper-gold-platinum-palladium.

This is a characteristic it shares with other alkalic porphyry deposits such as Newcrest’s giant Cadia-Ridgeway and China Molybdenum’s North Parkes mines that are also located within the Lachlan Fold Belt.

 

 

This article was developed in collaboration with Impact 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.