Latest drilling by QMines extends copper deposit at Mt Chalmers
Australia’s emerging zero carbon copper and gold developer, QMines (ASX: QML), has now successfully extended its Mt Chalmers project northeast of Rockhampton.
Base metal sulphides have been intersected in all the new drill holes southwest of the main mineralised body.
The ongoing drill program has intersected this semi-massive sulphide mineralisation between Mt Chalmers and the Woods Shaft deposits.
Drilling proceeding systematically, mineralisation improving
The company says this latest drilling program has been concentrated on the prospective southwest corridor between the Mt Chalmers West Lode and Woods Shaft.
Drilling is proceeding systematically away from the West Lode towards the southwest and continues to intersect semi-massive sulphides along with the underlying copper sulphide stringer zone, the company says.
Mineralisation in each drill hole indicates that the semi-massive sulphide envelope is improving towards the southwest.
“Upcoming drill holes will test this exciting prospect,’ stated QMines.
Historic drilling stopped short of new target
During May and June QMines drilled eight holes for a total 1096m, six of those targeting the lightly drilled southwest side of the West Pit.
QMines was last year unable to complete extensional drilling before the insert of the wet season.
During the 1980s, Geopeko — the exploration arm of the former Peko-Wallsend mining major—undertook drilling at Mt Chalmers, but that work stopped short of the now interpreted extensions on the southwest side of the West Pit.
Complex faulting system
Previous structural studies of the Mt Chalmers deposit identified complex faulting at the intersection of the Southern and Western Faults.
These faults appear to have acted as conduits for upwelling mineralisation, with the Western Fault notably associated with improving mineralisation in holes where the fault now appears to extend, the company notes.
Apart from continuing drilling, QMines says it is working to deliver Stage 2 of the Mt Chalmers pit optimisation with improved metallurgical recoveries, and also that incorporates an underground optimisation strategy.
The company will also be drilling of priority electromagnetic targets, looking for further discoveries.