Askari Metals has revisited exploration data from its Horry copper-gold play in Western Australia’s Kimberley region to whip up new drill targets after fielding significant interest in the company’s local assets due to strong commodity pricing for both metals.
Based on previous programs at the site, management now believes it has the potential to reveal high-grade mineralisation via a significant exploration push.
The review focused on identifying the site’s highest-priority copper-gold targets to follow up on the significant data at its disposal from previous exploration campaigns. It identified high-grade copper-gold mineralisation and immediate targets to home in on with the drill bit.
Askari completed a phase-one drill program in 2022, consisting of 29 holes for 2096m and with the bulk of the drilling targeting the Horry Horse prospect.
The best hits from the program were at Horry Horse, with 4m at 1.8 per cent copper from 24m including 2m going 3.6 per cent copper and 0.2 grams per tonne gold from 26m. At the Western Lead prospect, there were solid near-surface hits of 2m at 5.5g/t gold from 10m and 2m going 1.3g/t gold from 12m.
An outcropping section for more than 400m was also found at Horry Horse and it was validated by respective rock-chip results of 8.5 per cent and 3.77 per cent copper.
The drill program intersected several intervals grading more than 1 per cent copper and 1g/t gold and indicated several sub-parallel mineralised lodes at Horry Horse and the Mt Dockrell prospect.
Management notes there has been multiple high-grade workings historically across the project site and refers to nuggets encountered at the Leo prospect that total 32 ounces, with the biggest being an impressive 8 ounces.
Previously, Brown Dog carried out rock-chip sampling across the project area in 2000-01 and discovered a high-grade find containing 5.47 per cent copper.
Askari Metals managing director Gino D’Anna said: “The Horry project remains a valuable copper and gold project for the Company boasting several historic and recent high-grade drill intersections as well as surface occurrences of copper and gold. The Kimberley Region of Western Australia was the site of WA’s first gold rush and remains a highly-prospective and active mining district with demonstrated prospectivity for high-grade gold, copper and base metals discoveries.”
Management believes there are multiple targets worthy of investigation in a phase-two drill program that will primarily focus on mineralised lodes identified at Horry Horse and the Mt Dockrell prospect.
Interestingly, the company undertook a gold loaming program in 2022, an old-style method of sampling and documenting in methodical detail to help pinpoint where the gold is shedding from or being transported due to erosion or mother nature’s forces.
The method involved testing various creeks in the area with panning and keeping detailed notes of the findings in each pan, before following up with more panning until the source of the gold in the waterways is revealed. Once the area with most abundance is identified, it is further interrogated with ground-truthing, mapping and metal detecting.
Assays from gold loaming near the Leo prospect provided grades up to 31.9g/t.
The company has a comprehensive record of previously-discovered gold nuggets and has used it to target potential ground for further works.
A stream sediment program was also undertaken with 36 samples collected throughout the project area. Four samples returned results greater than 9g/t gold.
Askari now has an enviable array of targets to follow up and it will be worth watching to see what results emanate from its next drill assault.
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By Craig Nolan
