Bastion Minerals engages Aurora Geoscience to design exploration plan for Mariner copper project
Bastion Minerals (ASX: BMO) has brought in specialists to help progress exploration work at its newly-acquired Mariner copper project in the eastern North-west Territories (NWT) of Canada.
The company has contracted NWT geological experts Aurora Geoscience to help prepare an exploration plan for the 155-square-kilometre claim.
Aurora Geoscience and Bastion will investigate historical work and gain a better understanding of an approximately 520m-long mineralised quartz vein identified by previous owners.
Quartz vein potential
No additional exploration has yet investigated the potential of this quartz vein and it has become a priority target to expand upon the historical high-grade drilling conducted by Mariner Mines, which intersected grades up to 18.4% copper.
“With the advanced ICE project located in the Yukon […] being a strong focus for the company, I am thrilled with the increased potential of the Mariner project to host a high-grade copper deposit based on historical data,” chair Ross Landles said.
Mr Landles also said that Bastion has been buoyed by the results of immediate neighbour White Cliff Minerals (ASX: WCN), which recently announced rock chip findings of up to 75,439 grams per tonne silver and 13.6% copper for 34.2 million ounces of refined silver at its Port Radium project, which encircles Mariner.
Aurora Geoscience will focus on future activities including field prospecting and mapping, soil/till sampling, geophysical surveys and planning for drilling activities.
Gyttorp survey
Earlier this week, Bastion commenced a ground magnetic survey in the north of its Gyttorp rare earth element (REE) property in Sweden.
The property has high-grade REE mineralisation associated with magnetite skarns including areas of associated copper returning values of between 2.5% and 8.5%.
Bastion is aiming to define potential drilling targets where the skarn is thicker and more complex, with the company looking to undertake a maiden drilling program at the site as soon as possible.