Lefroy shows Burns copper-gold system just keeps getting better with Lovejoy drill hits

Lefroy Exploration will fast track exploration activities at its new Lovejoy prospect after its first two drill holes hit a unique style of copper and gold mineralization just 1.5km north of the Burns discovery.

Associated with a hydrothermal breccia, a distinctive feature of intrusion relation deposits like the area around Burns and Lefroy’s (ASX:LEX) Eastern Lefroy gold project, the first two diamond drill results struck:

34m of copper and gold comprising 15m at 0.40% Cu from 223.1 m and 19m at 0.57% Cu and 0.11 g/t Au from 255.5 (including 2m at 2.12% Cu & 0.18 g/t Au from 272m) in hole LEFD008; and,
96m of Cu-Au, comprising 11m at 0.68% Cu & 0.4 g/t Au from 50m, 40m at 0.20% Cu from 208m and 45m at 0.33% Cu & 0.3 g/t Au from 258m in hole LEFD009.

Grade and thickness is increasing with depth, offering immediate targets for deep drilling.

The breccia’s extents remain untested, a new priority target along the 2.5km long Burns Corridor.

The anomaly

The Lovejoy geophysical anomaly was located on the edge of Lake Randall 12 months ago, and is now beginning to demonstrate the growing scale of the Burns copper-gold porphyry system. It remains open to the north and south, with the initial results located on a single line of drilling.

That bodes well for the hopes of identifying multiple large copper-gold porphyries at Burns, a new style of mineralisation for the Goldfields region of WA, with the site located just 70km south-east of the unofficial Australian mining capital of Kalgoorlie.

“These are exciting first results from our evaluation of the Lovejoy geophysical anomaly on the edge of Lake Randall that we recognised 12 months ago,” LEX managing director Wade Johnson said.

“We have only drilled two diamond holes on a single traverse here with immense scope to expand this new breccia host to copper gold mineralisation along the 2.5km Burns corridor, as highlighted by the multiple magnetic anomalies.

“Planning for further drill testing at Lovejoy to expand on these recent results is underway and will form part of an ongoing program to define the larger Burns system.”

Lefroy Exploration ASX LEX Gold — Lefroy has brilliantly-named targets all along the 2.5km Burns Corridor. Pic: LEX

Who’s next?

Eastern Lefroy is one of the most exciting copper and gold exploration prospects to have emerged in recent years on the ASX, and not just because of the unbridled joy of seeing a conga-line of potential mines named after characters from The Simpsons.

A string of prospects along a 2.5km stretch from Lovejoy in the north to Skinner, Flanders, Smithers, Burns Central, Ralph and Milhouse in the south.

LEX thinks the Burns Corridor anomalies are all part of one large Burns copper-gold system, with each of the magnetic anomalies to the north of Burns Central, where the 38m at 7.63g/t and 0.56% copper discovery hole was drilled early 2021, showing similar geology in RC holes drilled last year.

The diamond drilling completed at Lovejoy in September is to the west of the main anomaly identified in geophysical work, which lies beneath the salt lake at Lake Randall and has only been tested by shallow aircore drilling.

There is no deep drilling immediately along strike to the north in Lake Randall or the south on land, presenting key areas for follow drilling. The explorer believes the Cu-Au mineralised breccia at Lovejoy has a far greater extent than initially interpreted and is an area for further RC and diamond drilling.

The recent drill results confirm the Burns system extends well beyond Burns Central, with step out drilling at other magnetic anomalies, such as an initial RC hole at Ralph in the south of the corridor to be completed after the Burns Central resource drillout is done.

Lake walkers

A lake RC rig is currently drilling planned RC holes in Lake Randall, and is expected to wrap up around December 10.

Subject to availability a Lake RC rig will begin drilling at Lovejoy in January 2022, with planning for follow up drilling to the north of the successful intercepts in LEFD008 and LEFD009 also underway.

Work on a mineral resource at Burns Central is also underway, with compilation and data preparation having commenced and RC drilling on the land-based component of Burns nearing completion.

This article was developed in collaboration with Lefroy Exploration, 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.