Investigator Resources gets green light to drill south of Paris silver deposit

Investigator Resources (ASX: IVR) has announced it has been granted Native Title clearance to drill a previously excluded area of its Paris silver project in South Australia.

The area, on the southern extension of Investigator’s wholly-owned project, has been protected in accordance with the wishes of the Gawler Ranges Aboriginal Corporation (GRAC) since the discovery of Paris over a decade ago.

Investigator has been working to build a cooperative relationship with GRAC, which has now determined the area has no cultural significance.

The removal of the restriction will allow Investigator to undertake additional drilling to expand the exploration coverage for the Paris resource, which has a current JORC 2012 estimate of 18.8 million tonnes at 88 grams per tonne silver and 0.52% lead for 53.1 million ounces of silver and 97,600t of lead.

Investigator managing director Andrew McIlwain said adding to the Paris resource will significantly enhance the value of the silver project.

“Importantly, the last resource drilling on lines -0.25 and -0.5 immediately to the north of this exclusion area had returned spectacular high-grade intersections,” he added.

Restrictions dropped on rocky outcrop

Mr McIlwain said the company’s ability to drill any extension to the southern end of the Paris project’s resource was restricted by an area centred on a small rocky outcrop that was noted in a 2010 heritage survey as “potentially culturally significant”. Representatives of GRAC visited the site on a number of occasions to determine whether this was the case.

“The board of GRAC, upon receiving survey reports and considering the findings, concluded that the area has no cultural significance and is not an Aboriginal site,” he said.

Mr McIlwain noted the company’s strong mutual respect with GRAC, which is “exemplified by Investigator not drilling within the area until further review and comfort in decision was available by GRAC”.

GRAC Registered Native Title Bodies Corporate (GRAC RNTBC) chairperson John Reid confirmed the Traditional Owners of the land are comfortable releasing the area for drilling, which “may in turn lead to a bigger resource and longer life project”.

“GRAC look forward to establishing a Native Title Mining Agreement (NTMA) with Investigator in the near future for the potential development of the Paris silver project and benefits for all stakeholders,” he said.

Resource extension drill program

Following the formal notification from GRAC to remove the access restriction, Investigator has planned a reverse circulation drilling program of approximately 4,800m in 29 holes, targeting possible extensions to the existing Paris resource.

The company confirmed it has secured a drilling contractor and anticipate the commencement of drilling in November.