Larvotto Resources has lit up a slew of new drill targets at its Mt Isa copper-gold-cobalt project in Queensland after collecting more than 6200 samples from a geochemical soil sampling program last year.
The company says key areas highlighted for further exploration include the Ballara Saddle, Portal Creek, IXL and Psamathe targets, with a geophysical induced-polarisation (IP) survey already underway. The program was aimed at identifying both iron sulphide-copper-gold (ISCG) and iron oxide-copper-gold (IOCG) mineralisation across the operation and included infill sampling of trends from historic results and rock chips where anomalous figures were returned.
Mt Isa includes more than 14 prospects that are undergoing detailed investigation. Management says copper occurrences and historical diggings across the project are estimated to be in the hundreds.
Mapping in the Ballara Saddle prospect area suggests an IOCG style of mineralisation. Historical exploration by Cyprus Gold Australia Corporation identified malachite gossan and noted channel/rock chip sampling of 15m of continuous samples returning 6.6 per cent copper and 0.64 grams per tonne gold.
Larvotto says previous rock chip sampling at the prospect returned an impressive 42.9 per cent copper in the southern area of Ballara Saddle, with the target identified as a priority for the next phase of drilling. Infill sampling at Portal Creek returned results greater than 250 parts per million copper across a 2km trend that management believes highlights the potential of the Prospector Fault corridor.
Initial geochemical soil sampling at Psamanthe showed values up to 315ppm copper, with follow-up results identifying several anomalous zones and values up to 467ppm copper extending north to the Blockade prospect, more than 4km away. The Psamathe anomaly covers a 2km strike at more than 300ppm copper.
Larvotto Resources managing director Ron Heeks said: “The results from the soil sampling geochemical program provide multiple key targets for Larvotto’s next exploration phase in 2024. Geochemical anomalies in this region are usually coherent and extensive and will provide an excellent focus for future work programs.
Heeks said the company had undertaken the field work with plans to build on its field validation to confirm the presence of copper, gold and cobalt mineralisation within its project areas. He said the “systematic work” had identified Ballara Saddle and IXL as early priority drilling targets.
Larvotto holds about 900 square kilometres of at Mt Isa, which sits along strike from the Mt Isa mine and also surrounds the Barbara copper mine.
Late last year, the company completed 2100m of reverse-circulation (RC) drilling at the site and unveiled results including a 20m hit grading 1.03 per cent copper from surface, with 4m at an impressive 2.48 per cent from just 12m. Wider intercepts from its Yamamilla prospect delivered 44m going 0.63 per cent copper from 48m including an 8m section at 1.64 per cent from 84m.
Rock chip samples from Mt Isa’s IXL prospect returned some staggering grades including 38.7 per cent copper and 0.77g/t gold, 25.3 per cent copper and 0.69g/t gold, 8.23 per cent copper and 2.62g/t gold and 28.3 per cent copper and 1.29g/t gold. Recent sampling also returned grades of about 9 per cent cobalt in rock chips where no previous sampling for copper has taken place.
Larvotto says it now plans to follow up its latest sampling results with additional data from the ongoing IP survey and plans to drill the geochemical anomalies at both Ballara Saddle and IXL.
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By Michael Philipps
