Mining

RareX reports multiple zones at Trundle Park copper-gold project

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By Robin Bromby - 
RareX multiple zones Trundle Park copper gold project REE ASX

Historic assays at Trundle Park included 2m at 20g/t gold, 6.97% copper and 81g/t silver from 64m.

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Free-carried partner RareX Ltd (ASX: REE) reports that the Canadian operator of the Trundle copper-gold project in NSW has intersected four mineralised zones with its latest drill hole.

RareX, which is focused on its Cummins Range rare earths project in Western Australia, earlier this year carried out a partial sale of the Trundle Park project to Kincora Copper, listed on the Toronto Venture Exchange, and retained a free carried 35% interest.

In addition, RareX earned a 9.9% stake in Kincora.

Kincora, which holds 65% of Trundle Park, recently reported visual mineralisation in a previous hole.

Now, in the next drilling round, the company reports it has intersected “the best observed primary bornite and chalcopyrite zones seen to date at the Trundle Park project”.

The hole has been found to go through four well-developed and broad skarn horizons.

Cores from both these recent holes have been submitted for assaying.

Second rig to expand exploration effort

RareX says the latest drill hole has provided “further significant encouragement.”

A second drill rig is expected to be in operation in the early 2021 and will be used to expand the alteration and mineralised footprints.

The average depth of prior explorer drilling at the Trundle Park prospect is 28m, with only two diamond core drill holes completed to moderate depths.

RareX says re-logging of Kincora’s core has resulted in a change in the current drill hole orientation towards the north-west.

“Kincora’s ongoing exploration activities have resulted in a significantly improved understanding of the bedding direction hosting the skarn horizons, along with key structures/faulting and the identified multiple phases of mineralization within the skarn – all supporting a substantial mineralising event and providing further vectors to the targeted causative intrusion system,” said RareX.

In mid-2020, Kincora has advised RareX that the first Trundle Park hole it drilled confirmed the targeted setting of skarn and adjacent porphyry intrusion, comparable to Cadia and “multiple other world-class porphyries”.

Trundle Park was the only brownfield project held by a listed junior in what RareX calls “Australia’s foremost porphyry belt”.

It lies within the same mineralised complex as the Northparkes copper-gold project, 30km away and owned by China Molybdenum.

Modern technology follows up earlier drilling

Past drilling at Trundle Park has been extensive with 2,208 holes drilled over 61,146m, but deeper drilling into the basement using modern exploration knowledge has been very limited, RareX noted.

More than 90% of earlier drilling had gone down less than 50m, with just 0.5% of holes reaching beyond 300m.

Moreover, Kincora’s program is the first drilling on the ground since induced polarisation surveys, including magnetic modelling, were introduced in the mining exploration sector.

Historic assay results at Trundle Park included 2m at 20 grams per tonne gold, 6.97% copper and 81g/t silver from a depth of 64m.

Apart from Trundle Park, the joint venture ground includes the Mordialloc and Bayleys mineralised systems.