Stavely Minerals Limited (ASX: SVY) has received outstanding new results from drilling targeting deeper extensions of the mineralisation in the south‐western sector of the Cayley Lode deposit, part of its 100%‐owned Stavely Copper‐Gold Project in western Victoria.
Diamond drill hole SMD173, drilled from the southern paddock south of the railway, was designed to target the Cayley Lode at depth below the Low‐Angle Structure. The intention was to test the south‐easterly plunge of high‐grade copper‐gold‐silver mineralisation.
SMD173 has intersected an interval of inter‐fingered micro‐diorite and Cayley Lode sulphide mineralisation from 328.2m to 420.3m down‐hole. The sulphides are variably massive to semi‐massive sulphides to disseminated and veins of pyrite with variable abundances of copper sulphides including chalcopyrite, bornite and chalcocite.
Expedited assay results have returned two outstanding intercepts representing a cumulative total of 46 metres of strong copper‐gold mineralisation including high‐grade assays of up to 19.65% copper, 8.29g/t gold and 202g/t silver, with another interval returning a spectacular silver grade of more than 1.2kg per tonne silver.
Chair and Managing Director, Chris Cairns, said the results for SMD173, particularly considering that the mineralisation is intruded by a 36.7m interval of late, barren micro‐diorite, highlight the significant growth potential for the Cayley Lode at depth below the Low‐Angle Structure.
Future drilling will target extensions of this position and other opportunities at depth once the maiden JORC Mineral Resource estimate for the shallow part of the Cayley Lode has been completed.
The final phase of the resource drill‐out for the Cayley Lode is nearing completion, with the company on track to complete the extensional drilling in the south‐western sector of the Cayley Lode in the next few months, paving the way for a maiden Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) in Q2 2022.
“The intersection of 92.1m of inter‐fingered sulphide mineralisation may well be the longest down‐hole intersection of mineralisation recorded at the Cayley Lode to date,” Mr Cairns said.
“The significance is that, if follow‐up drilling is able to confirm the continuity of these types of widths of mineralisation along strike and up/down‐dip, there is significant capacity for these intersections to contribute material additions to the upcoming Mineral Resource Estimate.
“Further, the observed mineralisation in SMD173 has very positive implications for what we have been describing as potential for a Phase 2 underground development. We have a lot of drilling and technical studies to do before we will be able to demonstrate any underground viability, but the foundational building block is demonstrating that the well‐developed Cayley Lode copper‐gold‐silver mineralisation is down there, and a few more hits like this can add tonnes very quickly.
“In short, this is a very important drill hole which highlights the enormous long‐term exploration opportunity across the broader project to delineate a vertically extensive Magma/Butte‐style copper lode system. We have evidence from our earlier drilling that high‐grade mineralisation occurs at depths of up to 1km below surface.
“Our challenge, once we post the maiden Mineral Resource Estimate and complete a Scoping Study on a potential Phase‐1 open pit development at the Cayley Lode, is to systematically unlock this potential for what we believe could be a multi‐decade copper operation in Western Victoria.”
Of note is that unusually high abundances of silver, certainly in the kilogram per tonne ranges that are normally seen in association with the lead sulphide, galena. In this instance, the lead abundance is 17ppm, precluding the presence of galena. The modest gold grade also precludes electrum.
The deportment of the significant abundance of silver is subject to further investigations.
For further information please visit: https://www.stavely.com.au/
