Drilling At Prospect Expected To Continue For At Last Three Months At IOCG Prospect
Coda Minerals Limited (ASX: COD) has commenced drilling daughter (wedge) holes to further evaluate the thick intersection of copper sulphide IOCG-style mineralisation encountered recently at the Tier-1 Emmie Bluff Deeps IOCG Prospect, part of the Elizabeth Creek Project in South Australia.
On June9, 2021, Coda announced it had intersected a 200m thick zone of intense IOCG- style alteration, including approximately 50m of moderate to intense copper sulphide mineralisation in deep diamond drill-hole DD21EB0018.
The company’s Elizabeth Creek Project is located in the heart of the Olympic Copper Province in South Australia. Coda is the operator and majority owner of the Elizabeth Creek Project, holding a 70% interest alongside Torrens Mining, which holds a 30% interest.
The Elizabeth Creek Copper Project encompasses two priority targets, with the current drilling program having commenced on 20 May 2021. These targets are:
• The Emmie Bluff Copper-Cobalt Deposit, a laterally extensive, flat-lying, sediment-hosted copper- cobalt deposit at approximately 400m deep, over which the Company established an Exploration Target in 2019; and
• The Emmie Bluff IOCG Deeps prospect, which lies in the basement rocks below Emmie Bluff, at a depth of approximately 700-1,000m. The target at Emmie Bluff Deeps is iron-oxide copper-gold (IOCG) mineralisation, which is mined in the region at the Olympic Dam, Carrapateena and Prominent Hill mines.
The project also hosts additional Zambian-style Cu-Co-Ag Indicated Mineral Resources at Windabout and MG14, with additional regional exploration targets identified at MG14 North, Hannibal and Powerline.
Emmie Bluff Deeps
Following the copper sulphide mineralisation intercept reported in early June, Coda has commenced work on the first of two wedge holes from DD21EB0018. Commencing at approximately 500m, daughter holes will initially be drilled to the west and east of the parent hole and have been designed to produce separation of between 50 and 100m from the parent hole through the sulphide zone.
These holes are designed primarily to validate and reinforce the original intersection, and to provide indications of continuity of width and intensity of alteration. A secondary objective will be to obtain detailed geochemical data, which is anticipated to provide a geochemical gradient of pathfinder elements. This should allow future drilling to vector towards larger or more intense sections of the mineralised body and, ultimately, towards the fluid source.
It is expected that each daughter hole will take on the order of two weeks to complete. During this time, Coda will mobilise an additional diamond drill rig which will commence drilling from surface at one of the six additional pads in the area which have previously been approved at Emmie Bluff Deeps.
Additional drilling, including likely further daughter holes, is anticipated to continue for at least the next three months.
Emmie Bluff
Core from the first Emmie Bluff hole has been transported to a dedicated facility in Adelaide for cutting, photographing and assay preparation. Assays are being expedited and are expected within three to five weeks.
Coda remains committed to completing the drill-out and resource estimation process at its Emmie Bluff Zambian-Style prospect, where drilling is currently underway in parallel to the ongoing IOCG exploration at Emmie Bluff Deeps.
The company currently has one RC and two diamond rigs on site with a third diamond rig expected to arrive on site within two weeks.
CEO Chris Stevens, said that given the recent results at Emmie Bluff Deeps, a small proportion of resources including, field staff and drill rigs, which had been earmarked for the Emmie Bluff programme have been reassigned to IOCG exploration. This may impact the proposed timeline for the delivery of the Emmie Bluff Mineral Resource Estimate, which had previously been scheduled for the September Quarter of this year.
The company now anticipates delivery of this MRE in the December Quarter of 2021, but is considering avenues to increase available resources on site to meet the original deadline.
The regional exploration programme, which includes RC drilling at the Hannibal, MG14 North and Powerline prospects, is not expected to be impacted by reassignment of resources, with drilling expected to be completed at all three prospects in the first half of next month.
“All of us at Coda are tremendously excited about the potential of the Emmie Bluff Deeps IOCG prospect. We have spent the last several days determining the most efficient and technically sound ways by which we can scale up our exploration efforts to further test the target identified by this incredible result,” Mr Stevens said.
“We remain fully committed to our work programme at the Emmie Bluff Zambian style copper-cobalt deposit, which remains an exceptional copper prospect in its own right.
“Over the next few months, we will continue to work to unlock the potential of the IOCG opportunity whilst finalising the maiden JORC Mineral Resource Estimate for Emmie Bluff. This should create a unique opportunity for multi-pronged activity, news-flow and, we hope, further significant value creation for Coda shareholders.”
For further information please visit: https://www.codaminerals.com/
