The results are in, and signs are supporting that Kincora has made an important new geological discovery along the southern extension zone at the Trundle Park prospect, where it is gaining further encouragement for a larger and higher-grade porphyry source. Kincora has also received validation of Mongolia as an attractive investment jurisdiction, and very prospective for large and very valuable copper porphyry projects, with Rio Tinto’s $US2.7bn ($3.7bn) move to acquire its Canadian partner in the massive Oyu Tolgoi copper mine.
Final assays from an earlier hole (TRDD029) drilled into Kincora Copper’s (ASX:KCC) Trundle Park prospect has demonstrated cumulative gold and copper mineralisation across almost 200m in three separate skarn zones.
The Upper Skarn returned an intercept of 36m at 0.68 grams per tonne (g/t) gold and 0.29% copper, while the Middle Skarn delivered an intercept of 129m at 0.17g/t gold and 0.12% copper, including 34m at 0.38g/t gold and 0.30% copper.
Significantly, these latest results show Kincora is very close to its primary porphyry target and source of the fluids in these skarn intervals.
“These results are very encouraging that we are lateral to and near the margin of the primary target, the ore discovery we are after, which is a higher-grade, large porphyry deposit,” John Holliday, technical committee chair, and Peter Leaman, VP of exploration, said.
What Kincora is seeing at Trundle so far is typical of other major porphyry systems in the Macquarie Arc, and globally, with pathways between skarns and porphyry deposits.
“Full assay results for TRDD029 confirm a new geological discovery in the southern extension zone at Trundle Park, with two encouraging broad intervals of higher gold and copper tenor in skarn beds typical of Macquarie Arc porphyry copper-gold systems,” Holliday and Leaman explained.
Skarn deposits are generally formed on the peripheral to, and mineralising fluids sourced from, porphyry systems. While skarns can support significant mining operations in their own right they are more often developed concurrently with the causative intrusion and porphyry deposit(s), which are generally a magnitude larger in tonnage than the skarn.
The Northparkes mine and Newcrest Mining’s (ASX:NCM) Cadia operation, which also sit in the Macquarie Arc in the Lachlan Fold, both host skarn and porphyry resources.
The Trundle Park prospect now has gold and copper mineralisation extending over a 1.3km strike, providing a significant search space that remains open in all directions.
Recently completed hole TRDD031 provides further evidence that Kincora’s exploration approach is working, that the southern extension discovery zone is very large, and provides further vectors (ie geological clues/evidence) for the main target, the porphyry.
Holliday and Leaman said the most recent hole drilled, TRDD031, had added to Kincora’s understanding of the southern extension zone.
“We have now intersected a tabular, bedded, mineralised skarn system across a strike of over 240m with Upper, Middle and Lower skarns in three holes,” they noted.
“Widths, alteration and visual mineralisation of these skarn zones are providing vectors for follow up drilling”.
The skarn zone in TRDD031 was intersected below potassic alteration within quartz veining comprising tourmaline-bornite-chalcopyrite in volcanics. These are the first indications of tourmaline occurring at the project and are associated with quartz veinlets along with blebs of bornite and/or chalcopyrite, and from a relatively shallow depth (first noted at 285m down hole).
The importance of this is that both tourmaline and bornite are indicative of a hotter temperature environment, which is expected closer to the core of the porphyry system.
Kincora has started drilling a fourth deep hole, TRDD032, to follow up these vectors which are coincident with a wider north-south mineralised corridor and magnetic low.
The company is expecting the results from hole TRDD030, which intersected cumulative skarn of about 250m along with quartz-carbonate-chalcopyrite vein sets in the Middle Skarn, in about three weeks.
Kincora has also now completed a 50-hole, 1550m aircore drilling program to test the wider intrusive complex and extent of identified anomalous copper-gold mineralisation at open pit target depths to the north of Trundle Park.
Things are getting serious in Mongolia
Kincora also has a project portfolio in the Southern Gobi copper-gold belt, Mongolia’s leading porphyry region, where it has defined a large exploration target of 416-428 million tonnes at 0.26-0.30% copper at its most advanced project, the Bronze Fox mining license.
Work has commenced seeking to convert this exploration target to a JORC resource, which is expected to be announced next month.
News out this week that heavyweight Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) has made a nearly $US3bn play for its Canadian partner in the Oyu Tolgoi copper project in Mongolia demonstrates just how hot the region is.
Rio wants to acquire the remaining 49% it doesn’t own in Turquoise Hill which would give it full ownership of Oyu Tolgoi, which is on track to become the world’s 4th largest copper mine by 2030.
Proving its ground could be similarly very valuable, Kincora last month revealed it had discovered multiple porphyry targets at a newly identified prospect on its Mongolian ground.
The company is advancing its plans to spin out the Mongolian assets with a larger $7.5-10m IPO and subsequent listing on the ASX of Resilience Mining Mongolia.
This article was developed in collaboration with Kincora Copper, 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.