Northern Cobalt reveals high-grade copper discovery at Wollogorang
Northern Cobalt has found up to 5% copper during high priority target drilling at its Wollogorang cobalt project in the Northern Territory.
Northern Cobalt (ASX: N27) has got more than it bargained for while drilling priority cobalt targets at its flagship Wollogorang project in the Northern Territory, with the first target intersecting up to 5% copper.
The news pushed the company’s share price up more than 23% to reach $0.16 by mid-afternoon.
Northern Cobalt reported last week it planned to test its high-priority cobalt targets at the project, with the program comprising 21 holes to about 40m depths, at areas where shallow aircore drilling to 5m had identified the potential for economic cobalt mineralisation.
While drilling the first high priority target, Northern Cobalt intersected 7m at 1.3% copper, with a 1m higher grade interval containing 5% copper, according to portable XRF device readings.
The XRF has determined copper values in other intervals including 15m at 0.57% copper from 1m, with 4m at 1% copper from 6m, and 5m at 0.36% copper from 2m.
“We are very encouraged that our first drill target has delivered such promising results, with a further 20 targets yet to test,” Northern Cobalt managing director Michael Schwarz said.
“These targets are based on our extensive 2018 aircore drilling program of over 970 shallow holes.”
“This result shows the hard work put in a the beginning of the field season has started to pay off,” he added.
The copper mineralisation was found about 4km south of the project’s primary Stanton cobalt deposit and has now been dubbed the Gregjo copper-cobalt prospect.
Northern Cobalt believes the copper mineralisation is part of the region’s Gregjo Fault and it remains open along strike.
During the extensive aircore drilling campaign, Northern Cobalt identified copper mineralisation across 370m of strike over the Gregjo Fault, with initial rotary air blast drilling determining “significant copper mineralisation” beneath the fault and over 50m of strike.
In the coming days, Northern Cobalt plans to test the extent of copper and cobalt mineralisation along the fault.
Copper mineralisation has been encountered across the project, but not at today’s reported high-grade levels.
The Stanton resource includes copper in the estimate, with the resource totalling 942,000t at 0.13% cobalt, 0.06% nickel and 0.12% copper.
Assays from this drill hole are expected within a month.