Xanadu Mines has wrapped up a massive 48,000m infill drilling campaign at its Kharmagtai copper-gold project in Mongolia and has unveiled some impressive early results from the company’s White Hill prospect.
The infill program is aiming to provide an updated mineral resource for the operation before the end of the year as the company continues exploration with four diamond rigs investigating shallow targets and one drill rig targeting deep mineralisation.
The latest results show a huge 325m intercept grading 0.38 per cent copper equivalent with 0.33 per cent copper and 0.11 grams per tonne gold from 570m, including a 12m section going 1 per cent copper equivalent with 0.87 per cent copper and 0.26g/t gold from 794m. The 12m segment also boasts a 4m hit reading 1.28 per cent copper equivalent with 1.2 per cent copper and 0.16g/t gold from 834m.
Kharmagtai already boasts an impressive mineral resource estimate of 1.1 billion tonnes for 3 million tonnes of contained copper and 8 million ounces of gold. Previous results from the company’s Stockwork Hill prospect show a 421.25m hit going 0.48 per cent copper equivalent from 152.75m, including 62m at 1.05 per cent copper equivalent from 196.75m.
The updated results will be fed into a preliminary feasibility study (PFS), which management says shows progressive growth in high-grade material at the base of the previously optimised open pits.
Xanadu Mines executive chairman and managing director Colin Moorhead said: “It is particularly exciting to see the continued high-grade results from White Hill deposit where we have effectively intercepted the top of a previously undefined high-grade core. Discovery of a high-grade core at White Hill is important and highlights strong potential for additional vertical extensions of high-grade mineralised zones, similar to both the Stockwork Hill and Copper Hill deposits.”
Earlier this year, the company completed two phases of its strategic partnership with Chinese copper giant Zijin Mining, giving it access to funding for its ongoing exploration.
The deal saw Zijin invest US$35 million (AU$52 million), funds which will also be used to complete the Kharmagtai prefeasibility study. A 50-50 joint venture has been created between the two partners at a project level, with Xanadu the operator on the ground.
The partnership has allocated 18 months to knock over its PFS, while an earlier scoping study identified several upside opportunities that could materially upgrade the economics of the project.
Xanadu says Mongolia hosts great, large-scale mining operations with two world-class mines to the south – the Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold project and the Tavan Tolgoi coking coal operation. The region offers ideal infrastructure to be able to deliver product next-door to the world’s biggest copper and gold consumer, China.
While copper has sunk to its lowest price since March and gold has also dropped below the $3000 per ounce mark, an operation such as Xanadu’s, with its immense resource that is only going to become bigger, looks to be in prime position to become a genuine producing prospect.
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By Michael Philipps
