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Murray Ward
True North Copper has significantly grown its Mt Oxide discovery in north-west Queensland, extending the known mineralised copper trend by 500m to a solid 2.3 kilometres and uncovering a massive new 300m-wide mineralised zone in the process.
Maiden drilling at the company’s new Chidna prospect, 400 metres north of its existing Aquila discovery, has defined the broad new system. Additionally, drilling at Aquila continues to deliver the goods, with a new shallow hit of a hefty 52 metres grading 0.85 per cent copper from just 23m downhole. The drilling has defined multiple high-grade shoots along 800 metres of strike and has extended mineralisation a further 150 metres to the south.
The impressive 52m intercept included a higher-grade core of 9m running 1.89 per cent copper from 32m and follows on from a previous hit of a whopping 130m running at 0.67 per cent copper,0.07 percent cobalt and 1.5 grams per tonne (g/t) gold including 22m grading 2.2 per cent copper,0.04 per cent cobalt and 4g/t gold from 280m and also featuring 6m slice at a hefty 5.7 per cent copper,0.07% cobalt and an eye-catching 8.2g/t gold from 295m.
The fresh drilling at Chidna has already confirmed True North’s previously identified induced polarisation geophysical targets, with one hole returning a 39m intercept at 0.26 per cent copper from 304m, including a 9m section grading 0.51 per cent copper from 331m.
‘Together, Aquila and Chidna are beginning to reveal the scale and architecture of a much larger mineralised system.’
True North Copper managing director Andrew Mooney
Another hole at Chidna delivered a 23m hit at 0.20 per cent copper from 106m. While the grades are modest, they are highly significant in confirming the presence of a large, mineralised system in a previously untested area.
The discovery of the Chidna zone is particularly significant due to its sheer size. While the mineralisation at the adjacent Aquila discovery is typically between 40m and 60m wide, maiden drilling at Chidna has confirmed a mineralised zone with an interpreted width of 300m.
Management believes Chidna sits within an interpreted dilational structure, a geological setting where the rock has been pulled apart, creating a much larger space for mineral-rich fluids to flow through and deposit their valuable metals. Such a setting provides a potentially favourable environment for larger and higher-grade mineralisation targets.
True North Copper managing director Andrew Mooney said: “What is particularly exciting is the maiden TNC drilling at Chidna, immediately north of Aquila. The mineralised structure appears to open significantly from around 40–60 metres wide at Aquila to ~300 metres at Chidna, within what we interpret to be a major dilational structure. These structural settings can provide increased space for mineralising fluids, and the drilling has given us a number of compelling shallow and deeper targets for potential higher-grade mineralisation.”
The company says the results from Chidna and Aquila demonstrate continued growth of the broader mineralised system at the company’s Mt Oxide project. Both areas remain open, with multiple follow-up drill targets already in the crosshairs. Meanwhile, additional prospective structures that partly lie within the company’s tenure extend a further two kilometres to the north, hinting at the potential for a much bigger mineralised structural corridor.
The Mt Oxide project sits in the heart of Queensland’s world-class Mt Isa-Cloncurry mineral province, 100km north of Glencore’s Mt Isa copper smelter and just 20km north of 29Metals’ Capricorn Copper mine, offering a potential pathway to production.
Meanwhile, at its Cloncurry copper project, the company is progressing a prefeasibility study, which is expected to outline a pathway to near-term production and is slated for completion in the final quarter of the year. The project already contains a resource of 129,000 tonnes of copper and 152,000 ounces of gold.
The company says it’s now planning to continue drilling to expand the Aquila-Chidna mineral system along strike and at depth, in addition to completing follow-up IP geophysics to refine targets for a second phase of drilling. A raft of further assays from Mt Oxide are due for release over the coming months, providing a strong pipeline of news.
With the mineralised strike at Mt Oxide now stretching out to 2.3km and still open, the discovery of a new 300m-wide zone at Chidna and a stream of Mt Oxide assay results soon to be released, True North appears to be getting a handle on the true scale of the system. With prospective structures mapped for another 2km, there also seems to be plenty of ground left to test in this copper-rich corner of Queensland.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au
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