Impact Minerals looks to be tugging on the tail of a tiger with recent geochemical sampling at Apsley in NSW outlining a sizeable anomaly that flaunts all the hallmarks of a classic ‘text-book’ porphyry copper-gold deposit according to the company. Sampling at the company’s Apsley project has highlighted three priority targets for immediate testing with geophysical surveying expected to commence later this month.
Impact’s Apsley project is located in central New South Wales, approximately 260km north east of Sydney and importantly, only 20km south of Alkane Resources impressive Boda copper-gold porphyry discovery.
The Apsley project shares the same terrane as the nearby Boda discovery, which is hosted by New South Wales revered Lachlan Fold Belt. The Lachlan Fold Belt is home to some of Australia’s largest mineral deposits including the North Parkes and Cowal porphyry copper-gold deposits and the giant Cadia-Ridgeway deposits, that boast an astonishing 42.5 Million ounces of gold and 11 million tonnes of copper.
Interest in the Lachlan Fold Belt was reignited in late 2019 following Alkane’s remarkable Boda discovery. Boda extends over more than 2km of strike and has thus far been delineated down to a remarkable 1,000 metres. Better intercepts from the Boda discovery include 512 metres at 1.00 g/t gold and 0.44% copper, with Alkane commenting that the prospect has some similarities to the nearby Cadia Valley mine’ – a significant prize for any would be mining house.
Alkane’s success at Boda has put a rocket under a host of other exploration hopefuls in the region with the likes of Impact now looking to follow in the emerging producers’ footsteps.
Impact’s recent work at Apsley has delineated what the company says appears to be the core of one of these highly sought-after, alkali porphyry systems. Surface sampling has outlined an extensive gold, copper, palladium and platinum anomaly that is 500 metres wide and extends over more than 2,000 metres of strike – a sizeable target for follow up exploration.
Impact Minerals Managing Director, Dr Mike Jones said:
“These results have far exceeded our expectations as they suggest that the entire Apsley Prospect is potentially part of one very large porphyry copper-gold complex. The zonation we see, in particular the gold-copper-palladium-platinum association so characteristic of alkalic systems like Cadia and North Parkes, is almost textbook in nature and we now need to define specific targets using IP. The IP survey will commence later this month and any targets identified will be fast tracked for drilling as quickly as practicable.”
The anomaly shows an almost text-book geochemical signature with a copper and precious metal core surrounded by an envelope of anomalous zinc, lead and manganese mineralisation that covers an area of at least four square kilometres.
Impact also says the geochemical signature is coincident with the two discrete magnetic high’s that could be the parent porphyry intrusions and the source of the overlying mineralisation. These two intrusions are priority targets for future exploration, with a third target, potentially an additional buried intrusion, a further 500 metres north of the main core.
Impact is now looking to fast-track exploration over its Aspley project area, with induced polarisation, or IP geophysical surveys now being planned over the three porphyry targets. The IP will be utilised to delineate zones of disseminated sulphide that potential host copper and gold mineralisation.
Impact remains well funded with over $2 million in its kick and the next phase of exploration set to ignite in the coming weeks.
With Boda lurking purposefully down the road, Impact is looking to break free of the nearology hopefuls in the region and define its own Boda look-a-like.
This week’s text book geochemical sampling results are a very good start.
Is your ASX listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au
By Matt Birney
