Stavely Minerals begins ‘pivotal’ 2023 exploration campaign
Stavely Minerals is seeking to raise $4 million through a placement of new shares priced at $0.15 each, and a further $1.5 million through a share purchase plan.
Stavely Minerals (ASX: SVY) has begun what it describes as a “pivotal” exploration campaign for 2023 – starting with aircore drilling across regional copper targets and the new Narrapumelap rare earth element (REE) anomaly.
Aircore drilling is following up anomalous results from last year’s drilling as well as new targets. The first target to be tested is the Junction 3 copper prospect and drilling will move later this week to the Narrapumelap, which previously returned 0.24% total rare earth oxides (TREO) plus yttrium.
Narrapumelap is part of the Black Range joint venture with Navarre Minerals (ASX: NML). Stavely holds an 83% interest in this joint venture.
As well as an aircore program, diamond drilling will begin “imminently” with four 800m holes planned at a deep porphyry target.
One diamond rig is on site setting up and another is set to arrive “within days”.
This program is targeting a “causative porphyry” to the high-grade copper-gold Cayley lode mineralisation.
Porphyry expert review leads next steps
Renowned porphyry expert Dr Steve Garwin led a review of data and drill core from the Thursday’s Gossan and the Cayley Lode deposits in late 2022 and identified the Cayley Lode mineralisation was “transitioning in character”.
This was from analysis of the final and deepest holes drilled at the Cayley Lode’s south-eastern sector.
One of these holes intercepted 43m at 2.6% copper, 0.42 grams per tonne gold and 10g/t silver from 378m. The final hole uncovered 10.4m at 4.34% copper, 3.17g/t gold and 11g/t silver from 421m, including 4.9m at 6.74% copper, 6.45g/t gold and 19g/t silver.
“Dr Garwin’s insights have assisted the site team to recognise a systematic zonation of sulphides in the high-grade copper-gold mineralised structures, and this has provided very material encouragement to pursue the Cayley Lode at depth,” Stavely executive chairperson and managing director Chris Cairns explained.
“In essence, the mineral assemblage in the last few, and so far deepest, drill holes completed on the Cayley Lode while completing the initial mineral resource drill-out, indicate an increase in temperature of mineral formation which, if it continues, should bring our drilling towards the causative porphyry.”
Mr Cairns said the upcoming deeper diamond program will be wide-spaced, with each hole about 150m apart in a horizontal fence across the lode’s south-eastern plunge.
“With a 500-million-year-old deposit, there is always a degree of risk of structural offset and other risk factors, but we believe the target is technically robust and the potential prize is well worth the effort.”
Stavely Volcanic Belt
The company’s projects are located within western Victoria’s Stavely Volcanic Belt.
Cayley Lode was discovered in 2019 and has a current resource of 9.3Mt at 1.23% copper, 0.23g/t gold and 7.1g/t silver.
All-up across its landholding, Stavely has firmed up total resources of 28.3Mt at 0.75% copper, 0.11g/t gold and 3.5g/t silver for 210,000t of copper, 100,000oz gold, 3.2Moz silver and 2,400t of zinc.
The company is focused on discovering more porphyry copper at depth.