Noronex has extended the mineralisation horizon of its Fiesta prospect after anomalous copper and silver results from step-out drilling at the site that forms part of the company’s Humpback project in Namibia.
The program included 17 holes across 4900m of reverse-circulation (RC) drilling, with assays indicating mineralisation extends 750m from historic results of 13m at 1.4 per cent copper and 1 gram per tonne silver from 118m and 31m going 0.9 per cent copper 33g/t silver from 154m.
The latest assays from the step-out drilling reinterpreted the strike extent of the prospect, with 1m grading 0.6 per cent copper and 35g/t silver from 233m, 5m going 0.44 per cent copper and 12g/t silver from 241m and 13m reading 0.32 per cent copper and 8g/t silver from 253m from the same hole.
Two holes were also sunk to test extensions to the west of the system, with anomalous results including 13m at 0.23 per cent copper and 6g/t silver from 157m and 1m going 0.5 per cent copper and 56g/t silver from 184m, demonstrating that the system is open and has high silver values.
But management says further drilling is required to define the style and extent of the mineralisation, which is believed to lie on a significant structure on the Kalahari copper belt.
The step-out holes were designed to test extensions of previous results in September that delivered a 45m intercept of 0.8 per cent copper and 23g/t silver from 144m, including 13m at 1.5 per cent copper and 45g/t silver from 150m.
Noronex says its improved understanding of the mineralisation at Fiesta significantly extends the known length of the horizon and the potential size of the deposit, with several new targets defined.
The company also recorded anomalous copper and silver intercepts from the first drilling at its Blowhole prospect near the Botswana border, with 3m grading 0.15 per cent copper and 14g/t silver from 238m. Structural targets were defined at Blowhole along strike from the Ngami and Thul intercepts recently revealed by Cobre in Botswana that included 12m running at 2.5 per cent copper and 24g/t silver.
Management says aeromagnetic surveys demonstrate the continuation of this prospective horizon into Namibia.
The Fiesta deposit is continuing to deliver positive copper intercepts at significant step-outs on the main horizon, which is very encouraging for the potential size of the Fiesta copper system and the surrounding region under shallow cover. The whole 100 per cent-owned Humpback project, supported by the drilling at Fiesta and Blowhole, provides numerous favourable structural settings for large deposits that have never been previously drilled.
The United States Geological Society regards the Kalahari copper belt as one of “the world’s most prospective areas for yet-to-be-discovered, sediment-hosted copper deposits”.
The relatively underexplored belt spans about 1000km from central Namibia to the north-west of neighbouring Botswana through the Kalahari Desert and is notched with a high calibre of copper explorers and producers. They include Rio Tinto and Sandfire Resources, the latter paying $167 million four years ago to acquire a 53-million-tonne Motheo copper deposit going 0.9 per cent.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@wanews.com.au