Oar Resources discovers copper in the system at Crown Nickel-Copper Project in WA

Initial findings from a fieldwork program undertaken at Crown has identified the presence of copper sulphides in what is interpreted to be ultramafic rocks.

Oar Resources (ASX:OAR) has confirmed the presence of ultramafic rocks containing copper sulphides at the Crown Nickel-Copper-PGE Project in the Western Australia’s Julimar district, around 70km northeast of Perth.

Fine disseminated sulphides including pyrite and chalcopyrite (copper sulphide) have been discovered in several samples from the first phase mapping and outcrop rock chip sampling, which are also interpreted to be magmatic in origin.

Detailed petrological thin section analysis of samples collected in the initial mapping and sampling program across the central and northern portion of the project has also identified a suite of medium grade metamorphic, amphibolite facies rocks including amphibolite, hornblende gneiss, quartzite, and highly sheared biotite schist lithologies.

Field team moving to the south

Oar general manager geology Tony Greenaway was pleased that initial field observations were backed up by the petrological work, “confirming the presence of our target ultramafic lithologies in the area”.

“It was also encouraging to see the petrology picking out the copper sulphide chalcopyrite in a few of the samples.

“While these are logged as trace amounts, we can now confirm that there is copper in the system.

“The field team are now moving to the south of the project where we have access to a priority one target area to undertake our stage two exploration, including soil sampling, additional mapping and outcrop sampling.”

Second phase exploration underway

OAR believes these petrological results are highly encouraging and validate the company’s exploration approach at the Crown Project.

The results confirm initial field observations and the prospectivity of the project, which is located just 8km from Chalice Mining’s (ASX: CHN) world-class Gonneville discovery.

Two additional land access agreements over priority one target areas in the southern portion of the Crown Project area have been executed, which has allowed Oar’s geological team to begin the next phase of on-ground fieldwork, at priority targets in the southern region of the project.

Initial interpretation by independent consultants Southern Geoscience has highlighted this area as a high priority target, with the geophysical signatures indicating a highly complex geological setting including potential folding, strong alteration, and high intensity of structural features.

Crown Project – exploration methodology

Oar is undertaking a technically driven, staged, and systematic exploration approach at Crown to better understand the geological setting of the previously unexplored area.

This systematic approach includes three stages of “boots-on-ground” work, including:

• Stage 1: Detailed geological mapping and outcrop mapping, aimed at identifying basement geology which has historically been poorly understood and mis-mapped;
• Stage 2: Systematic soil/surface geochemical sampling, aimed at defining drilling targets (this stage may include ground or airborne geophysical surveys); and
• Stage 3: Drill testing of identified anomalies.

This article was developed in collaboration with Oar Resources, 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.