Alkane is pleased to announce results from its drilling program at the Company’s Rockley Project (ROC) in Central New South Wales. Alkane also operates the nearby Tomingley Gold Operations (‘Tomingley’).
The Rockley Project is located 35 kilometres south of Bathurst in the Central West of NSW. Its three exploration licences cover a portion of the Late Silurian Mumbil Group, a sequence considered highly prospective for base metal and gold mineralisation forming as volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) or skarn* type deposits.
Greenfield exploration over several years has identified several prospects within EL8527 (“Apsley”). Exploration has included an airborne electromagnetic survey (AEM), followed up with ground fixed loop EM over two of these targets. Soil geochemistry and rock chip sampling over an irregularly shaped >1km2 magnetic feature has confirmed widespread calc-silicate alteration and Cu-Zn-Pb-Ag skarn mineralisation.
Seven scout slimline RC drill holes were recently completed targeting multi-element and multi-point soil and rock chip geochemical anomalies and/or historical workings. Cu-Zn-Pb-Ag skarn mineralisation was intersected by six of the seven drill holes including significant assay results of:
| ASRC005 | 62m grading 0.12% Cu, 0.39% Zn, 4.0g/t Ag from 6m |
| incl | 3m grading 0.44% Cu, 0.64% Zn, 0.34% Pb, 0.14g/t Au, 29.8g/t Ag from 20m |
| also | 3m grading 0.11% Cu, 1.33% Zn, 5.4g/t Ag from 65m |
| ASRC004 | 14m grading 0.14% Cu, 0.41% Zn, 0.04g/t Au, 2.7g/t Ag from 22m |
| incl | 2m grading 0.49% Cu, 0.30% Zn, 0.11g/t Au, 6.1g/t Ag from 25m |
| also | 3m grading 0.10% Cu, 0.80% Zn, 0.39% Pb, 4.1g/t Ag from 29m |
| ASRC001 | 12m grading 0.13% Cu, 0.19% Zn from 0m |
| and | 15m grading 0.14% Cu, 0.23% Zn from 33m |
| and | 5m grading 0.14% Cu, 0.17% Zn from 67m |
Mapping with rock chip sampling has recorded significant grades of Cu, Zn and Pb mineralisation at Apsley, Belmore East, Red Hill and the recently discovered Stewarts Prospect. Highest grade samples include:
| Apsley (RK25) | 6.54% Cu, 21.1% Zn, 2.00%Pb, 91.3g/t Ag, 0.47g/t Au |
| Belmore East (RK29) | 2.01% Cu, 0.31% Zn, 11.7g/t Ag, 0.1g/t Au |
| Red Hill (RK58) | 7.72% Cu, 0.82% Zn, 19.2g/t Ag, 0.7g/t Au |
| Stewarts (RK83) | 7.33% Cu, 22.2% Zn, 8.11% Pb, 32.5g/t Ag |
Further target generative exploration is planned for the next 12 months including mapping, rock chip sampling and soil sampling. Further scout drilling is also planned for Stewarts, Red Hill and Cow Flat South as well as testing the ground EM plates generated at Belmore East and Red Hill South.
Alkane Managing Director, Nic Earner, said: “Alkane’s exploration team is using its considerable experience to advance exploration on another of our tenement packages, the Rockley Project. We’re looking for large VMS or skarn-type deposits that contain gold or base metals, particularly copper.
“These results are encouraging; we have identified multiple occurrences of mineralisation and have several large targets within the Project area. We will conduct further scout drilling on the most prospective of these targets in the coming months.”