Golden Deeps hits trio of copper and zinc sulphide discoveries at Havilah

Golden Deeps (ASX: GED) has scored a “hat trick” with all three completed drill holes at its 100%-owned Havilah project in NSW intersecting significant sulphide mineralisation.

Diamond drill hole HVD003, which tested an extensive Hazelbrook copper soil and rock chip anomaly, intersected patches of semi-massive copper and zinc sulphides as well as vein and disseminated sulphides across an 80-metre zone.

The third hole of the program tested an extensive north-east to south-west trending copper-zinc soil anomaly that had been previously defined with rock chip values of over 1% copper.

Aligned mineralisation

Chief executive officer Jon Dugdale said the mineralisation aligns with the surface soil and rock chip copper-zinc anomaly.

“The intersection of sulphide mineralisation in all three initial holes at Havilah […] indicates we’re on top of a large porphyry-sulphide system with similar characteristics to other major copper-gold discoveries in the Lachlan Fold Belt such as Cadia-Ridgeway and the recent Boda-Kaiser discovery,” Mr Dugdale said.

Readings from the most intensely mineralised zone in HVD003 ranged up to 18.5% copper and 34.8% zinc, with averages of 0.5% copper and 0.7% zinc.

High tungsten (up to 1.38%) and cobalt (up to 798 parts per million) values were also recorded in this zone, while a second zone produced lower values for both zinc and copper.

Lachlan Fold focus

The rich Lachlan Fold Belt has become an area of increased focus for the company after it entered into an agreement in mid-July to earn an 80% interest in the holders of four granted and highly prospective exploration licences in the region.

Under the agreement with Acros Minerals and Crown Gold Resources, Golden Deeps will reimburse $179,263 of previous expenditure to earn the 80% interest by spending $300,000 on exploration within three years.

In acquiring the new interests, the company announced it would build on previous work which has shown that the mineralised Sofala volcanics and porphyry copper-gold targets are present on two of the exploration licences.

Planned work includes further geophysical surveys to define drilling targets in an area that has received limited exploration due to shallow cover.