Exploration Licence 4401 covers an area of 489 square kilometres in the highly prospective Kanmantoo Trough, east of Adelaide in SA.
Exploration activities are conducted in accordance with the guidelines. For details regarding Regulations visit the PIRSA website.
The potential for further discoveries and growth of the global copper/gold resource in the Kanmantoo area is high. The deposit appears to remain open along strike and down dip where additional drilling could materially increase the resource inventory. The Project's regional prospects range from grass roots in nature to those with significant intercepts and resources, which it is hoped will also add additional resources. Further discoveries at depth and along strike of the open pit, if converted to Ore Reserves, would result in expansion of the main pit and subsequent underground mining.
Exploration Licence 4401 covers an area of 489 square kilometres in the highly prospective Kanmantoo Trough, east of Adelaide in South Australia. The Kanmantoo Trough is an axial zone which hosts numerous former base metal and copper-gold mines and has been the subject of sporadic mining activity of both vein and replacement style deposits since the mid 1800's.
EL4401 surrounds Hillgrove's South Australian tenements of the Kanmantoo Copper/Gold Mine and Wheal Ellen Project. It also includes the Emily Star deposit of 1.243 million tonnes of Probable Ore Reserves which contributes approximately 11% of the total Probable Ore Reserve currently defined as part of the Kanmantoo Mine development.
Hillgrove's near mine and regional exploration programme continues around work on the Kanmantoo Copper/Gold Mine Project, focusing on a number of prospects which have returned encouraging results and have the potential to add to the current resource base.
Internal company modelling suggests that another 10-15 million tonnes of resources (exploration target) may be present as satellite opportunities within the current tenement holdings. Although, it is important to note the potential quantity and grade of the exploration target is conceptual and there has been insufficient work to define a resource and it is uncertain if further work will result in the determination of such a resource.
The tenement portfolio provides a commanding hold over much of the prospective terrain and offers tremendous opportunity to host a significant discovery.
The regions prospects range from grass roots or 'greenfields' in nature to those with significant intercepts and resources. In addition to the near mine prospects around the Kanmantoo Project, key satellite zones have been identified in the license, such as the Kannappa Prospect for copper/gold, lead/zinc at Mt Torrens, the former Bremer high-grade underground copper mine, and gold/lead/zinc at Mt Rhine, which is the first regional prospect in EL4401 to enjoy Hillgrove's attention.
The Mount Rhine Prospect is located 65 kilometres north east of Adelaide and about 55 kilometres north of the old Kanmantoo Copper Gold Mine. Mt. Rhine consists of a series of historical workings which occur on three strongly gossanous outcrops. Previous exploration work here has been limited in the area with four wide spaced RC holes conducted by ACM Gold in 1991 which intersected low-moderate (up to 2.75g/t gold) gold grades at depth.
Detailed rock chip and channel sampling has confirmed the high grade nature of the prospect with five samples assaying over 30g/t gold. Peak assays include 49.8g/t gold, 239.1 g/t silver, 7.08% copper, 5.16% zinc and 0.7% lead (not from same sample). Significant channel sample intervals include 6m @ 15.9g/t gold in MRCS003, 6m @ 15.4g/t gold in MRCS001, 6m @ 13.13g/t gold in MRCS002, and 8m @ 5.36g/t gold in MRCS004. Soil sampling along the shear/fault zone has now outlined a significant anomaly over one kilometre in strike length and up to 100 metres in width.
Hillgrove's experience at Kanmantoo suggests that there is an opportunity to confirm the presence of high grade gold mineralization through detailed structural studies followed by further drill testing.
There is significant potential for the discovery of new satellite copper/gold ore bodies and lead/zinc mineralisation both in the immediate Kanmantoo Mine Corridor and in the 497 square kilometres exploration area, which will be a major area of exploration focus over the next few years.
The Wheal Ellen Prospect (EL 3232) is located 40 kilometres east south east of Adelaide and 10 kilometres north of Strathalbyn and seven kilometres along strike from the Angus silver-lead-zinc mine. It is named after the historical silver-lead-zinc mine at the centre of the tenement which was worked primarily in the 1850's and produced an estimated 75,000 tonnes at an overall grade of 25% zinc, 20% lead and 12oz/t silver.
The latest intersections have demonstrated the continuity of high grade poly-metallic mineralization with better results including 5m @ 8.68% zinc, 5.89% lead, 2.34g/t gold in WHDD003 (including 2m at 18.36% zinc, 11.39% lead and 4.28g/t gold) and 3m @ 5.40% zinc, 4.60% lead, 1.82g/t gold in WHRC047 (including 2m at 7.54% zinc, 6.62% lead, and 2.11g/t gold). New zones of copper-only mineralisation are also evident, with intersections including 1m at 2.55% copper from 51m depth and 1m at 1.74% copper from 55m in WHRC046.
With significant mineralisation intercepted up to 150 metres below the surface, Wheal Ellen is shaping up as a resource that could support a third mine development in the area, following on from Terramin's Angas zinc project and our own Kanmantoo copper mine development. The high grades and low cost setting of the Adelaide Hills makes Wheal Ellen a standout exploration target.
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