Litchfield Minerals prepares for maiden drilling at Silver King
The critical minerals explorer listed on the ASX last week following an oversubscribed $5m IPO
Silver King is part of the company’s Mount Doreen tenements which are highly prospective for copper and other minerals
Special Report: ASX newcomer Litchfield Minerals is preparing to launch into its maiden drilling and exploration program at Silver King, the first cab off the rank at the company’s Mount Doreen copper project in the Northern Territory.
NT-focused critical minerals explorer Litchfield Minerals (ASX:LMS) listed on the ASX on March 15 following an oversubscribed $5 million IPO.
The company is the brainchild of father-and-son prospectors Michael and Matthew Pustahya and was just the fifth new float to debut on the bourse this year.
Now LMS is gearing up to ground truth the encouraging findings of last year’s IP survey which identified a strong chargeable zone near historical copper workings at Silver King that point towards a possible vertical, pipe-like structure which could extend to depths of up to 100m.
Silver King, hosted on tenement EL 31305, and surrounding geology. Pic: Supplied (LMS)
Raring to go
Drill targets have been identified and a combination of diamond and RC rigs will soon be deployed to the Silver King target area within the Mount Doreen tenements, about 350km north-west of Alice Springs.
The LMS team is currently on site marking up drill pads and sumps in anticipation of the imminent arrival of drilling equipment and machinery.
On top of the promising IP survey results, initial rock chip samples have also hinted at potential high-grade mineralisation, with grades of up to 22.5% copper, 551g/t silver and 28.9% lead.
Mining management plans and other necessary drilling and land access permissions and agreements have been obtained from the NT Geological Survey and station owners.
All drilling contractors have been engaged with mobilisation to site set to begin works shortly, weather permitting.
Mineralised wall rock from Silver King. Pic: Supplied (LMS)
LMS managing director Matthew Pustahya said the company was looking forward to beginning a “productive” drilling and exploration season.
“The 2023 IP survey and rock chip results give us confidence that we are targeting the right area for our maiden campaign at Silver King, which will be tested with this round of our preliminary diamond and RC drilling program,” he says.
“We look forward to updating the market with drilling results as they become available.”
A history of copper
The Silver King drilling program will not only target copper but also gold-silver-lead-zinc mineral occurrences which are hosted within the Lander Rock Formation.
LMS has pinpointed two initial targets for drilling which will be tested via four RC/diamond holes and two contingent holes.
Silver King, located in tenement EL 310305, is characterised by copper-lead-silver mineralisation concentrated along a zone where faulting intersects truncated and folded layers of rock, penetrated by siliceous, granite-associated intrusions.
Outcropping evidence at Silver King. Pic: Supplied (LMS)
Mineralisation is exposed at surface and LMS is “optimistic” that fault-displaced repeats or extensions are present nearby.
Historical copper mining activities at Silver King, including shafts and large pits, were primarily located along fractures, especially those crossing through siliceous rock layers, with the most evident copper mineralisation found within these fractures.
Silver King was the site of five percussion drilling attempts in 1989, aimed at evaluating its mineralisation and the potential types of mineral deposits present.
All holes were relatively shallow with the deepest being drilled to about 60m. Some of these holes ended in or near mineralisation.
This article was developed in collaboration with Litchfield Minerals, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.
This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.
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