Impact’s diamond drill hit target shear zone at Hopetoun

Impact’s recently completed diamond drill program at the Silverstar prospect within its Hopetoun project has intersected the target shear zone about 60m updip.

The company has also completed first pass soil geochemistry surveys over priority targets at the underexplored project, which had previously been perceived to be underlain by barren Proterozoic gneisses along with extensive younger cover that hindered earlier explorers.

However, Impact Minerals’ (ASX:IPT) review of regional airborne magnetic data over the area suggests that much of the gneiss terrane may be an extension of the highly prospective Ravensthorpe greenstone belt to the north.

The company has also completed an airborne electromagnetic survey over priority targets at the Arkun-Beau nickel-copper-platinum group metals project and is progressing soil geochemistry at four other priority targets following successful land access negotiations.

Hopetoun potential

Impact is earning up to 80% in Hopetoun, which comprises two tenements covering 75sqkm.

It previously identified six drill ready targets of which the Top Knotch and Silverstar copper-gold-silver prospects are fully permitted for drill testing.

The recently completed program saw the drilling of two diamond holes at each of the prospects.

At Silverstar, a second hole to test the up-dip extension of a 25m shear zone with extensive alteration minerals and minor disseminated chalcopyrite-pyrrhotite mineralisation intersected the same shear zone at about 180m down hole and 60m updip from the first hole.

This zone is of similar thickness and appearance to the second hole but also intersected a narrow zone of deformed quartz veins about 25cm thick and 190m down hole with up to 5% molybdenite together with anomalous bismuth values up to 250 parts per million when measured using a portable XRF instrument.

Impact plans to follow-up on this “encouraging” result with further drilling.

Other work

At Arkun-Beau, the company completed an airborne EM survey over seven priority areas, six of which were identified in geophysical data and returned strong soil geochemical responses. The last had strong geophysical response but limited soil geochemistry response.

Land access agreements have also been reached with 21 land owners that paves the way for soil geochemistry surveys.

Meanwhile, at the Narryer, Dalgaranga, Denninup and Jumbo projects, compilation of previous exploration data is in progress.

Additional interpretations of the surface geology from aerial photographs, satellite data and radiometric data and of the bedrock geology from magnetic and gravity data are also underway.

This data will be synthesised and interpreted with the aim of identifying areas of interest for follow-up ground work which will include mapping rock chip and soil geochemistry surveys as well as ground geophysics where warranted.

Assays are also pending for six reverse circulation drill holes at the Doonia gold project near Kambalda.

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.