iTech Minerals’ samples up to 22pc antimony in rock chips at Reynolds Range

• iTech Minerals’ rock chip sampling has returned up to 22% and 12.6% antimony from the Sabre and Falchion prospects
• While both prospects have been subjected to historical gold exploration, they have never been explored systematically for antimony
• Field mapping and sampling is underway across the Reynolds Range project to understand controls on mineralisation and effective drill targeting

Special Report: Rock chip sampling has added antimony to the grab bag of minerals that can be found at iTech Minerals’ Reynolds Range project in the Northern Territory.

Assaying of recent rock chips collected at the Sabre and Falchion prospects returned results of 22% antimony, 7g/t gold and 1.2g/t silver as well as 12.6% antimony, 1g/t gold, 90g/t silver and 4% lead respectively.

These samples were collected during a visit by iTech Minerals (ASX:ITM) geologists in late July to assess the potential for gold and antimony mineralisation at the two prospects, which sit within a 6.3km by 2.5km anomaly that had been previously defined by a lag soil survey.

Reynolds Range consists of three exploration licences covering a total 375km2 of the Aileron Province, about 230km northwest of Alice Springs in the NT.

It has seen no systematic antimony exploration though work by the company has identified two high-priority copper-gold drill targets at the Scimitar prospect and lithium-bearing spodumene at the GMF1 pegmatite.

“Results from recent rock chip sampling at the Falchion and Sabre prospects at Reynolds Range in the Northern Territory have highlighted substantial antimony mineralisation,” managing director Mike Schwarz said.

“The antimony mineralisation has a strong association with previously targeted low sulphidation epithermal gold veins at both prospects.

“Anomalous antimony and gold in rock chips, drill holes and soil surveys, across both Sabre and Falchion, suggest a single, large, shallow mineralised system extending over 6.5km by 2.5km.”

Antimony in lag soils grid showing location of rock chip samples and the Sabre and Falchion prospect. Pic: iTech Minerals

Sabre and Falchion prospects

Sabre contains shallow gold workings associated with the Lander Shear Zone and yielded high-grade gold results of up to 182g/t during a previous rock chip sampling trip.

While the company was able to find the main high-grade gold mineralised vein that it previously sampled, it also observed a gossanous quartz rich core close to the previous sample that carried high values of arsenic and antimony when measured with portable XRF.

This led to the collection of nine rock chip samples targeting this gossanous quartz vein.

At Falchion, mineralisation appears in outcrop that appears to be constrained to a southeast-northwest corridor of sporadic anomalism over 350m of strike.

There appears to be strong associations between samples >1g/t gold and elevated antimony at this prospect.

Both prospects have seen previous exploration for gold with 166 rotary air blast holes totalling 8300m completed to depths of between 30m and 50m on average.

Future work

ITM is continuing field mapping and sampling of gold-antimony and copper-gold prospects across the Reynolds Range project to understand the critical controls on mineralisation and effective drill targeting.

The company is currently reviewing historical geophysical data including induced polarisation surveys to determine an effective targeting tool for antimony-gold mineralisation.

Plans are also underway to drill the Scimitar copper-gold target with applications for drilling approvals well advanced.

Assays from further rock chip sampling are expected in mid-September and will be reported when available.

This article was developed in collaboration with iTech 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.