Castillo Commences Arya Copper Prospect Drilling
Castillo Copper Limited (ASX:CCZ) has commenced drilling at the Arya Copper Prospect, which is located in the Mt Isa copper-belt in Queensland.
The commencement of drilling follows the largest mobilisation effort in CCZ’s history. This entailed heli-lifting the drill-rig, all supporting equipment and personal to site due to the rough terrain.
Managing Director, Simon Paull, said that after running several scenarios, heli-lifting all the equipment to site (and between drill pads) was calculated to be more cost efficient and flexible than building a reinforced, access road at this initial stage of the campaign.
“Of the 22 targets that we have across the tenure in the Mt Isa region, the Arya Copper Prospect has generated the most intrigue and interest among stakeholders.
“The geochemistry and geophysical evidence have all provided compelling evidence the three targets are potentially among the best within our tenure. As such, the Board optimistically looks forward to the initial observations as the campaign progresses.”
Further, post reconciling historic geochemical and geophysical data, the Board decided it was strategically more prudent to orchestrate a “proof of concept” campaign comprising five RC drill-holes initially which includes AR04, AR08, AR09, AR13 and AR21.
If the first-round observations and geological findings are encouraging, there is built-in flexibility to expand the campaign to fully drill-test the extent of any underlying system.
Even with a “proof of concept” campaign, the focus remains on drill-testing the three main targets that BHP identified in the mid-1990s comprising EG01, EG02 and EG10. Significantly, much of the emphasis will be on EG01 which is interpreted to be a potential massive sulphide bedrock conductor 130m thick, 1,500m long and 450m wide at a revised 100-200m depth.
