AuKing Mining identifies high-grade copper-zinc zones at Koongie Park project

A second batch of assays from initial drilling at the Koongie Park project in Western Australia has returned high-grade, wide zones of copper-zinc and other mineralisation for owner AuKing Mining (ASX: AKN).

Infill drilling at the highly prospective Onedin and Sandiego deposits aimed to improve geological interpretation and resource confidence.

Near surface drilling at Onedin and deeper drilling at Sandiego identified elevated zones of rare earth elements (REE) and additional copper mineralisation for the company.

Sulphide mineralisation

Two holes at Sandiego hit significant zones of sulphide mineralisation containing high grade copper and zinc intersections.

Best results from the first hole were 27m at 1.57% copper, 0.87% zinc, 0.14% lead, 9 grams per tonne silver and 600 parts per million cobalt from 475m, including 9m at 3.05% copper, 1.11% zinc, 0.18% lead, 14g/t silver and 0.11% cobalt; and 22m at 0.42% copper, 6.16% zinc, 1.17% lead, 25g/t silver and 200ppm cobalt from 500m.

The second hole returned 20m at 1.71% copper, 1.58% zinc, 0.25% lead, 8g/t silver and 647ppm cobalt from 346m; and 13m at 0.2% copper, 5.71% zinc, 1.14% lead, 27g/t silver and 135ppm cobalt from 370m.

Assays identified anomalous zones of REE such as lanthanum and cerium, and were consistent with anomalous portable xray fluorescence readings for neodymium and praseodymium.

The holes established an extension of previously-known mineralisation at the deposit and provide the basis for AuKing to conduct even deeper exploration to assess further resource extensions.

AuKing said it was encouraged by the presence of lanthanide group elements at Sandiego and will undertake confirmatory sampling and analytical work to determine the full extent of the REE mineralisation.

It will also continue to assess the potential inclusion of cobalt mineralisation in future Koongie Park resource estimates.

Anomalous zinc

Three holes at the Onedin deposit hit mineralisation which displayed anomalous zinc values of more than 1,000ppm.

Highlights were 20m at 0.26% copper, 0.37% zinc, 0.19% lead and 0.68g/t silver from 86m; 4m at 0.13% copper, 0.81% zinc, 0.82% lead and 2.04g/t silver from 145m; 8m at 0.21% copper and 0.58% zinc from 15m; 21m at 0.28% copper and 0.70% zinc from 45m; and 17m at 0.28% copper and 0.70% zinc from 98m.

Also reported were assays of 8m at 0.12% copper and 0.39% zinc from 83m; 9m at 0.18% copper and 1.51% zinc from 105m; and 6m at 0.17% copper and 2.03% zinc from 106m.

Exceeding expectations

AuKing chief executive officer Paul Williams said the second batch of assays had exceeded the company’s expectations.

“The two deeper holes at Sandiego intersected wide, high-grade zones of mineralisation and provide a strong foundation for even deeper drilling to assess a larger resource extension,” he said.

“We have also identified significant cobalt and rare earth mineralisation, which warrants further assessment from our exploration team, with an additional 2700m of drilling planned over the coming weeks.”

Highly-mineralised location

Situated in WA’s highly-mineralised Halls Creek region, the Koongie Park project comprises two mining and eight exploration licences over a 500 square kilometre landholding.

It has an existing JORC-compliant resource of 6.8 million tonnes at 1.3% copper, 4.1% zinc, 0.3g/t gold and 26g/t silver and remains significantly underexplored at depth and along strike.

Koongie Park is believed to be highly-prospective for VMS (volcanogenic massive sulphide) base metal mineralisation and multiple drill targets have been identified to expand on existing resources at Sandiego and Onedin.

In February, AuKing entered into an earn-in and joint venture agreement with Anglo Australian Resources (ASX: ARR) providing it with the right to earn up to 75% interest in the project by meeting exploration expenditure commitments of $3 million over a three-year period.