Impact is sourcing for a diamond rig to carry out follow-up drilling at its Hopetoun project, after RC drilling intersected a thick alteration zone with abundant pyrite sulphide.

The hole targeted a significant copper-gold target and had intersected a zone of extensive potassic alteration with variable low-level copper that is at least 75m thick.

The intersection also included a 4m thick zone of pyrite at the end of the hole.

However, it was unable to reach its target depth of at least 150m below surface due to difficult drilling conditions for the RC drill rig.

The conditions were affected by running sands that blocked the drill rods in younger cover rocks which overlie the target Proterozoic basement rocks, IPT said.

Impact Minerals (ASX:IPT) said this was the fourth attempt to reach the target depth, and it was deemed unsafe and potentially very expensive to continue the program.

As such, the reverse circulation program was curtailed and efforts are now underway to secure a diamond drill rig to undertake follow up drilling on the promising results as soon as practicable.

All drill holes have been samples and sent for assay with results expected in mid-February 2022.

Hopetoun project

Hopetoun is one of four recently announced joint venture projects where Impact is earning an 80% interest.

It hosts five drill ready targets of which two were fully permitted for drill testing.

However, geological information gleaned from this initial program indicates similar drilling conditions are likely to be present above at least four of the targets – further confirming the requirement for a diamond drill rig for the majority of the follow up drilling.

Doonia drilling

The RC rig is now mobilising to Impact’s Doonia gold project, located 75km off the world-class St Ives gold camp near Kambalda.

Doonia was identified during a review of the Eastern Goldfields for intrusion-hosted gold deposits, in light of the recent major Hemi discovery in the Pilbara.

Prospecting in the area has been further enhanced by the recent discovery of significant gold-copper-magnetite mineralisation, hosted by a magnetic porphyry intrusion at the Burns project located just 20 km west of Doonia.

Doonia and Burns were both identified in the same regional exploration program by WMC Resources in the 1990’s, with modest gold anomalism found in both areas in broad spaced aircore drilling – though neither area was followed up at the time.

 

 

 

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.