Duke Exploration confirms Quorn copper-gold-silver mineralised system could be larger than Mt Flora target
Duke is expecting assay results from holes completed at Mt Flora and the Quarry anomaly this month.
Preliminary drilling results from Duke Exploration’s (ASX: DEX) Quorn prospect within its flagship Bundarra copper project in central Queensland have confirmed it could become a larger mineralised system than the nearby Mt Flora target.
Four reverse circulation holes for a total 900m intersected visible copper mineralisation in stacked zones of up to 53m width and have been likened to the geometry of copper-gold-silver mineralisation at Mt Flora, from surface to 230m depth.
The holes at Quorn tested the potential for the same mineralisation, spatially associated with recent 3D induced polarisation conductivity and portable x-ray fluorescence (pXRF) copper soil anomalies.
Drilling was designed to collect detailed downhole geophysical, geochemical and optical data to better understand the geology.
Widths of up to 140m of copper sulphides in the form of chalcopyrite were logged in the exploration holes from surface to a vertical depth of 200m, over a length of 400m and a width of 200m.
The data will be used to confirm the lithological and geometric relationships of Quorn’s known mineralisation and will lead into the planning of first phase pattern resource development drilling.
Mt Flora similarities
The discovery at Quorn is believed to be similar to the geometry of copper-silver-gold mineralisation at Bundarra’s Mt Flora prospect.
Last week, Duke reported new drilling results highlighting the growth of Mt Flora’s resource area along strike to the north and increasing the company’s confidence in planned resource and mining studies for the prospect.
Managing director Philip Condon said early results of samples logged from Quorn had confirmed the potential for it to be a larger mineralised system than Mt Flora.
“We can already see from preliminary drilling that our exploration target at Quorn will be met and potentially exceeded as drilling of the new zones progresses,” he said.
“The drilling results and electrical geophysical surveys have increased our confidence that additional new discoveries will continue to be made around the remaining 46km perimeter of the Bundarra Pluton contact.”
Step in the right direction
Early success at Quorn has been a step in the right direction for the development of a mining operation at Bundarra.
It is also providing more confidence in the project hosting additional resources of copper, silver and gold to that already found at Mt Flora.
“The scale of the mineralised system at Quorn and the number of new targets around [it] suggest that a near-surface, long-life operation may be present at Bundarra, particularly when the other electrical geophysical targets are included,” Mr Condon said.