Assay results received by Greenland-focused Conico Limited from its 100 per cent owned Mestersvig project have confirmed the quartz veins in the Blyklippen-Sortebjerg, Holberg, and Nuldal faults all host high-grade lead, zinc and silver mineralisation. The Mestersvig project is situated on the east coast of Greenland, 5km from the Mestersvig military base.
The results are from a 10-hole diamond drill campaign that targeted vein-hosted zinc-lead-copper-silver mineralisation adjacent to the Blyklippen Mine and 20 rock chip samples taken during 2022 fieldwork.
Drilling was limited to the small extent of the known vein-bearing fault structures and has proven that lead, zinc-silver mineralisation is present not just adjacent to the historic Blyklippen Mine but also throughout a wider part of the project area.
In total, eight of the ten holes completed intercepted disseminated, heavily disseminated or matrix sulphides with assay results confirming the presence of high-grade lead and zinc mineralisation. The explorer says the drill cores exhibit similar mineralisation to the historic Blyklippen mine that produced 545,000 tonnes at 9.3 per cent lead and 9.9 per cent zinc between 1956-1962.
Blyklippen is located in the western bounding fault of the Mestersvig graben. Mineralisation occurs in fault-controlled, 2-m-50m wide quartz veins hosting lead and zinc minerals, notably sphalerite and galena, with accessory silver and copper.
Approximately 10km to the south of Blyklippen is the Sortebjerg prospect, a mineralised vein occurrence which has been subject to limited historic drilling. Zinc, lead, silver and copper mineralisation at Sortebjerg is hosted in a continuation of the same western graben fault that controls the mineralisation at the Blyklippen mine. Only 4-6km east of the Sortebjerg prospect are the Holberg and Nuldal prospects that consist of similar sub-parallel fault structures.
Significant assay results from the drilling at Blyklippen include 1.05 m at 1.2 per cent lead and 3.5 per cent zinc from 200.95m, 5.60 m at 9.2 grams per tonne silver, 7 per cent lead and 2.2 per cent zinc from 203.95 m and 0.67 m at 12 g/t silver and 7.6 per cent lead from 154.45 m.
At Sortebjerg, assay results were equally promising, with 0.55 m at 56 g/t silver, 3.5 per cent lead and 3.6 per cent zinc from 78.7 m, 4.50 m at 7.7 g/t silver and 23.8 per cent zinc from 134.0 m and 1.05 m at 0.6 per cent copper and 10.4 per cent zinc from 141.8 m.
Interestingly, high-grade mineralisation grading at an astounding 23.75 per cent Zn over 4.5 m was intercepted 9km south of Blyklippen on a previously undrilled section of the Blyklippen-Sortebjerg fault. Notably, many of the high-grade rock chip samples taken as part of regional reconnaissance on the Blyklippen-Sortebjerg, Holberg and Nuldal quartz veins were from sections of veins or vein systems untested by drilling. Seven rock chip samples returned high-grade lead, zinc, copper, or silver, with spectacular grades up to 22.5 per cent lead, 3.6 per cent zinc, 3.1 per cent copper and an impressive 226 g/t silver.
At Nuldal and Holberg, fault systems host the mineralised quartz veins. No previous drilling is known on the Holberg fault and only limited drilling took place in the1950s on the Nuldal fault, approximately 1km to the south. Significantly, the Holberg fault has 9km of un-drilled strike length, which remains open along strike to the north and south. The Nuldal fault also has 3km of un-drilled strike length and is also open along strike to the north and south.
In addition, a recent archive discovery of historical high-grade rock samples from Pingo Dal, only 38 km south of the Blyklippen mine, has added another prospect to the Conico portfolio and a new target to the Mestersvig project. Similarities in metals, grades and geology at the Pingo Dal prospect to the known Blyklippen mineralisation suggest a much broader extent to the Mestersvig ore-district than was previously known.
Conico Limited Executive Director, Guy Le Page said: “Both drill intercepts from Blyklippen and Sortebjerg together with high-grade rock chips at the Holberg, Nuldal and Pingo Dal, suggest an ore district at Mestersvig stretching over 40 km north to south. The district contains multiple graben-related faults with quartz-vein hosted Pb-Zn-Ag±Cu mineralisation similar in style to the historical Blyklippen Mine where 545,000 tons of ore at 9.3 per cent lead and 9.9 per cent zinc were extracted in the 50s and 60s. Significantly, the area has only been lightly touched by modern exploration with multiple un-drilled, high- priority, prospects.”
Conico is now planning the 2023 field program with extensional drilling near Blyklippen and on the Nuldal and Holberg veins. Drill targets include zones of flexure and structural bends in known mineralised fault-hosted veins on the Blyklippen-Sortebjerg, Nuldal and Holberg veins.
Ground truthing of the new Pingo Dal prospect is also proposed. Exploration techniques will include drilling, mapping, geochemistry and geophysics, across the Blyklippen, Sortebjerg, Holberg, Nuldal, and Pingo Dal prospects.
Conico maintains two helicopter portable drill rigs on site that will be used for early execution of new drill targets.
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By Matt Birney
