Coolabah Metals – soon to be Broken Hill Mines – has returned exceptional silver-lead-zinc results from assaying of historical drill holes. Pic: Getty Images
Mining
Special Report: Fresh from signing off on a joint venture that gives it a 70% interest in the Pinnacles mine, Coolabah Metals (to be renamed Broken Hill Mines) has unveiled exceptional silver-lead-zinc results from previously unassayed historical drill holes at Broken Hill, historically known as the ‘Silver City’.
The company said the assays of the 27 holes that had been drilled over the past two years returned multiple, shallow, very high-grade results that demonstrate the mine’s open pit potential alongside underground development options.
Notable results include:
BHM notes that most of the drill intercepts sit within the sulphide zone of the Pinnacles ore body, with weathering generally limited to a maximum depth of 20m and the small fraction of ore within the weathered zone has historically been directly shipped to smelters.
Multiple drill holes are located outside the existing JORC resource of 6Mt at 10.9% ZnEq (133g/t silver, 3.3% lead, 4.7% zinc and 0.5g/t gold).
“Release of these drilling results is a significant milestone for Broken Hill Mines, as it is understood to be the first ever ASX press release of drilling results from the Pinnacles mine after 70 years of private ownership,” chairman Stephen Woodham said.
“These outstanding high-grade results reinforce our excitement in relation to the Pinnacles mine potential.
“To have metal grades of this calibre near surface, on granted mining leases adjacent to an historic open pit, highlights the near-term potential for open pit operations that we are investigating, alongside the significant underground resource.
“These exceptional initial results also demonstrate the magnitude of the untapped potential of the Pinnacles mine to provide long term ore feed to Broken Hill Mines’ operating Rasp mine processing plant just ~15km away.”
Mineralisation at the Pinnacles mine in New South Wales is held within a silver-rich lead lode and an underlying parallel zinc-rich lode with copper and gold occurrences.
These lodes are spatially related but distinct from each other and generally separated by 5-10m.
The mineralisation is open in multiple directions including the known lodes that plunge to the southeast and the true width remains unknown due to the degree of structural complexity relative to drilling density to date.
BHM is currently in the process of undertaking geological logging and customary quality control processes for a further >1100m of historical drill core at Pinnacles.
It will then prepare the samples for assaying and will submit the samples once it relists.
The company is also preparing a targeted infill drilling program at Pinnacles to further delineate the shallow ore that is potentially amendable to near-term open pit operations.
This article was developed in collaboration with Coolabah Metals, 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.
