Drilling to Commence Next Month at Fairbairn Copper Project
Perth, Feb 29, 2024 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Great Western Exploration Limited (
ASX:GTE) is pleased to announce that final preparations are underway for drilling at its highly prospective Fairbairn Copper Project, with a drilling contract now signed with highly regarded contractor DDH1. Drilling is anticipated to commence in lateMarch 2024.
- Great Western is undertaking final preparations for drilling at the Fairbairn Copper Project, with an agreement signed with highly regarded drilling contractor DDH1.
- The drill program will test three compelling targets which geophysics and sampling indicate have potential to host volcanic hosted sulphide mineralisation.
- Geological mapping, sampling, and modelling suggest the conductors represent potential for DeGrussa Style copper-gold targets.
- Drilling is anticipated to commence in late March 2024.
Fairbairn Project
GTE 100% (E69/3443)
The Fairbairn Copper Project is located 900km north-east of Perth (Figure 1*) and 120km from Sandfire Resources' (ASX:SFR) DeGrussa copper-gold project.
The upcoming drilling programme will test three compelling DeGrussa-style targets which have been identified by both a fixed-loop electromagnetic (FLEM) ground survey and a heliborne EM survey (GTE ASX Announcement 26 September 2023).
The FLEM survey identified three isolated bedrock conductors which are interpreted to be related to sulphide mineralisation. The conductors were modelled between only 80 - 190m below surface, positioned along a government mapped contact between a siltstone-shale and boulder conglomerate- sandstone units of the Yelma Formation within the Earaheedy Basin (Figure 2*).
Their prospectivity has been significantly enhanced by geological mapping and modelling which suggests the conductors have potential to be blind DeGrussa-style volcanichosted massive sulphide targets (VMS).
Great Western Managing Director Shane Pike said: "These targets have been identified and refined using cutting-edge geophysics and assessed by leading people in this field."
"Geological mapping completed by our team found the targets are located in a geological setting expected for a DeGrussa style copper-gold deposit and share many other key geological characteristics.
"The targets are modelled as sitting between 80m and 190m below surface and their highly compelling prospectivity is supported by anomalous surface sampling results with assays grading up to 0.19 per cent copper and 0.15gpt gold, indicative of a fertile mineral system".
A heritage clearance has been completed and report received for work to commence. Government Programme of Works (POW) has been approved, with a native vegetation clearing permit currently being assessed. Great Western anticipates the drilling programme at Fairbairn that will test each of the three targets will commence late-March 2024.
Drilling at the Giant Oval and Oval South to Follow
Following drilling at the Fairbairn Copper Project, Great Western plans to commence drilling at the Company's giant Oval and Oval South Targets, the geophysical signatures of which are interpreted as sharing similarities with Rio Tinto's colossal Winu intrusive related copper-gold deposit.
The Oval and Oval South Targets were originally defined by Rio Tinto Tempest airborne EM survey in the late 1990s. Rio Tinto drill tested the Oval target, drilling a hole to a depth of 232m and terminating the hole within interbedded siltstone and shale with disseminated pyrite, considered at the time to be the source of the conductor (GTE ASX Announcement 4 October 2023).In 2010, a VTEM survey was completed by Great Western over an area that encompassed both Oval and Oval South. This geophysical method can penetrate deeper into highly conductive terrains such as shales at this location than the Tempest technique utilised by Rio Tinto. The VTEM data defined the conductor at a depth of 300m, below the shale surface where OVR001 was terminated (Figure 3*); hole OVR001 did not intersect the conductor.
Further definition of the Oval and Oval South targets was completed by a joint venture between Great Western and Sandfire (ASX:SFR), where Sandfire spent $4.5M on exploration on the project from 2017 before withdrawing (GTE ASX Announcement 17 August 2023). Great Western assumed 100% ownership of the Yerrida North Project, with all associated exploration data compiled and completed by Sandfire during the joint venture.
Sandfire completed an Airborne Gravity Gradiometry (AGG) in 2022, with the AGG survey defining discrete gravity highs at Oval and Oval South, that overlayed near perfectly with the VTEM anomalies (Figure 4*). The coincident gravity and EM anomalies were interpreted as potential buried bodies of metal rich sulphide mineralisation (GTE ASX Announcement 4 October 2023).
*To view tables and figures, please visit:
https://abnnewswire.net/lnk/QPN4362F
About Great Western Exploration Limited
Great Western Exploration (ASX:GTE) is a copper, gold and nickel explorer with a world class, large land position in prolific mining regions of Western Australia. Great Western's tenements have been underexplored or virtually unexplored. We have numerous field work programs across multiple projects currently underway and are well-funded with a tight capital structure, providing leverage upon exploration success.
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