Venturex Resources confirms regional potential at Sulphur Springs with Breakers base metals discovery

Sulphur Springs has continued giving for Venturex Resources (ASX: VXR), with the company reporting it had discovered high-grade base metal mineralisation at the Breakers prospect – confirming the project’s regional potential.

Venturex has now received assays from four out of eight reverse circulation drill holes carried out at Breakers for a total of 2,452m.

According to Venturex, the program at Breakers is the first “significant” drilling to be carried out at the prospect in a decade.

The program was designed to test below previous owner Sipa Resources’ (ASX: SRI) historic intersections that were completed in the early 1990s.

Notable assays from Venturex’s program were 18m at 7.75% zinc, 2.03% lead, 0.25% copper and 22.8 grams per tonne silver from 155m, including 7m at 10.74% zinc, 4.4% lead, 0.15% copper and 23.69g/t silver from 161m and 2m at 10.23% zinc, 0.16% lead, 1.18% copper and 3.78g/t silver.

Assays from other drill holes included 5m at 2.27% zinc from 185m, 2m at 1.02% zinc from 187m and 1m at 0.76% zinc from 170m.

Venturex claims the intervals and grades intersected at Breakers were geologically similar to mineralisation found at Sulphur Springs and Kangaroo Caves deposits which have combined resources of 17.4 million tonnes at 1.3% copper, 4.2% zinc, 0.2% lead and 17g/t silver.

The company’s managing director Aj Saverimutto said the assays from Breakers were a “fantastic result”.

“Volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposits typically occur in clusters, and we have always believed in the significant potential to find multiple deposits along the 27km long Panorama Trend,” he said.

“These outstanding results from exploration drilling at Breakers support this view and represent the first proof-of-concept of the multi-deposit theory, thanks to the excellent work completed by our geological team over the past year.”

Mr Saverimutto explained that previous exploration at Breakers had involved limited wide-spaced drilling.

“VMS deposits, by their nature, have limited strike extent and can take a fair bit of effort and work to pin down, supported by smart geological thinking, geophysics, and, ultimately, drilling.”

Commenting on the assay results, Mr Saverimutto noted the company had now defined a clear zone of high-grade zinc and lead mineralisation that appeared to be strengthening at depth.

“Plus, the copper intersection in the recent drilling, together with the high-grade copper values reported earlier this year at the surface gossan suggest that there is strong potential for a much larger zinc-copper VMS system at depth.”

Before the end of the month, Venturex plans to carry out DHEM surveys across the Marker Chert Horizon to evaluate if there is an accumulation of copper-rich sulphide mineralisation at depth.

“That will open the door to what we all hope will be the next significant VMS discovery within the Panorama Trend,” Mr Saverimutto said.

Sulphur Springs

Exploration at Breakers follows positive results at Sulphur Springs last month, where drilling returned an intercept of 63m at 1.89% copper from 45m, including 21m at 2.82% copper from 45m, and 5m at 5.43% copper from 45m.

Venturex completed a definitive feasibility study at the project last year, which revealed a possible pre-tax $80 million per annum cashflow.

To get the project up and running, the study estimated capital expenditure of $169 million would be required.

Venturex is in discussions with potential financiers with the goal of beginning production before the end of 2020.