Mining

Maiden drilling at Koongie Park copper-zinc project returns high-grade assays for AuKing Mining

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By Imelda Cotton - 
AuKing Mining ASX AKN maiden drilling Koongie Park copper zinc project

AuKing Mining has reported a highlight intercept of 124m at 1.03% copper, 1.08% zinc, 1.54% lead and 50g/t silver from 8m at its Koongie Park project.

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First assay results obtained from an initial drilling program at AuKing Mining’s (ASX: AKN) Koongie Park copper-zinc project have returned high-grade, near-surface copper, zinc, silver, and other mineral intersections across all holes drilled.

The 7,000m program was the company’s main focus during the September quarter and comprised a mix of reverse circulation and diamond drilling.

Approximately 3,500m of combined drilling has been completed and the remaining holes are scheduled to finish in late November.

AuKing’s initial focus was to secure suitable water bore sites for the Onedin and Sandiego deposits.

It has since moved onto deeper diamond drilling operations on a 24-hour basis.

Early highlights have been 124m at 1.03% copper, 1.08% zinc, 1.54% lead and 50 grams per tonne silver from 8m; 20m at 1.50% copper, 5.80% zinc, 0.91% lead and 102g/t silver from 148m; 34m at 0.51% copper, 1.05% zinc, 0.23% lead and 8.5g/t silver from 62m; 99m at 0.33% copper, 0.79% zinc, 0.81% lead and 20g/t silver from 18m; and 123m at 0.39% copper, 0.59% zinc, 0.96% lead and 11g/t silver from 16m.

Cobalt zones

Drilling also identified several significant zones of cobalt mineralisation intersected in work carried out at the Sandiego deposit more than a decade ago.

None of the holes completed prior to 2009 were assayed for cobalt by previous owners, leaving a significant number of them open to being re-assayed by AuKing to identify the extent of cobalt present at the deposit.

Best results from the company’s analysis of the cobalt zones were 14.52m at 7.33% copper, 0.8g/t gold and 0.33% cobalt from 393m including 9.6m at 9.7% copper, 1.10g/t gold and 0.49% cobalt from 394m, including 3.0m at 11.64% copper, 1.08g/t gold and 0.96% cobalt from 399m.

AuKing is now halfway through its drilling program and will continue activities into late November, with all assays expected by year end.

New application

During the quarter, AuKing lodged an application for the 20 square kilometre Blondie exploration licence in the Tanami region of the Northern Territory, close to the WA border and approximately 190km from Halls Creek.

The prospect comprises a broad, irregular zone of anomalous copper which coincides with an area of patchy outcrop of suspected Stubbins Formation of the Paleo-Proterozoic Tanami Group.

Previous exploration in the region has been mostly focused on identifying gold occurrences.

AuKing said once it had secured the Blondie prospect, it would design an initial exploration program for the area.