Thick copper zone uncovered at Canterbury Resources’ Ekoato prospect in PNG
Visible copper mineralisation was noted in a 170m of drill core at Canterbury Resources’ Ekoato prospect.
Canterbury Resources (ASX: CBY) has uncovered a broad copper zone at the Ekoato prospect, which is part of the company’s wholly-owned Ekuti Range project in Papua New Guinea.
A second drill hole at Ekoato terminated in mineralisation at 256m at unearthed a broad zone of porphyry style copper.
Visual inspection of the core revealed copper chalcopyrite mineralisation with a 170m zone.
Plans are now underway to drill a follow-up hole, which will test the mineralised zone.
“We are very excited by the discovery of broad zones of porphyry-style copper mineralisation,” Canterbury managing director Grant Craighead said.
“This confirms our pre-drilling concept that the Ekoato prospect includes significant porphyry style copper mineralisation and our ongoing drilling will provide excellent vectors for delineating the mineralisation system,” he added.
Drill core will be shipped shortly for evaluation with actual assays anticipated in early May.
Canterbury expects the copper mineralisation will be accompanied by gold, with the drill hole actually designed to test a target that was the focus of previous artisanal gold workings.
Under the current program, five holes for 1,350m have been planned at the prospect.
The first hole also encountered porphyry-style alteration consistent with what the company anticipated prior to drilling.
A third hole is underway where copper mineralisation was observed at surface.
Other copper assets
In addition to Ekuti, Canterbury holds a 40% interest in Bismarck and 100% of the Ipi River project in PNG.
Located on Manus Island, the Bismarck project is a joint venture where Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) is earning up to 80% of the project by sole-funding a further $12.5 million of exploration.
Meanwhile, at Ipi River, Canterbury received the exploration licence during the latter half of last year and is currently planning a reconnaissance field program to uncover near-surface copper mineralisation that has been identified from historical induced polarisation surveys.
Canterbury also wholly-owns the Briggs and Mannersley projects in Queensland that are prospective for copper, gold and molybdenum.
This morning’s news pushed Canterbury’s share price up more than 20% to reach $0.325 before midday.