Noronex (ASX: NRX) and its large joint-venture partner South32 (ASX: S32) have extended mineralisation by 500 metres from step-out drilling at their Fiesta copper project, which is part of the wider Humpback-Damara project in Namibia.
A reverse circulation drilling program aimed to extend the known mineralisation at the western lens of the project ground and unearthed a significant intercept of 33m grading 0.8 per cent copper and 31 grams per tonne (g/t) silver for 1.1pc copper equivalent from a depth of 265m.
The thick interval included a 4m chunk going 2pc copper and 83g/t silver for 2.8pc copper equivalent from 265m and a 4m slice at 2.3pc copper and 87g/t silver for a 3.1pc copper equivalent hit from 277m. The hole ended in mineralisation due to the rig’s depth capacity of about 300m.
Management is organising a diamond drill rig to follow up the hits with a 2000m program. Drilling at depth is planned to test for a continuation of the mineralisation and several other targets.
The mineralised drill hole was a 500m step-out west of where previous drilling intersected mineralisation and assays showed higher-grade copper-silver towards the end of the hole. It was drilled to the south of another hole that was part of the 500m step-out program, which returned 12m at 0.65pc copper equivalent. Another hit of 5m returned 1.4pc copper and 58g/t silver for 1.9pc copper-equivalent from 249m.
The company used a down-hole geophysical and optical televiewer to log seven of the drilled holes to better understand the orientation of the area’s sediments, structure and mineralisation.
The optical televiewer confirmed the bedding and associated mineralisation dips steeply to the north.
Extending the Fiesta mineralisation by over half a kilometre with such impressive copper and silver results right to the end of the hole is a major step forward in defining the potential size of this system. Our next step will be to undertake diamond drilling to test the full width and style of mineralisation, as well as seeking to further extend the strike as the system remains completely open to the west.
Noronex Limited Chief Geologist Bruce Hooper
Initial drilling at Fiesta’s western lens comprised four holes that all intersected significant copper and silver mineralisation.
The best results from the initial campaign included 30m grading 0.56pc copper and 62g/t silver for 1.1pc copper equivalent from 158m, including 8m going 1.23pc copper and 138g/t silver for 2.5pc copper equivalent.
The results added to the company’s initial discovery results at Fiesta, which revealed copper under 80m of sand cover at the reductant sandstone contact.
A hit of 45m at 0.8pc copper and 23g/t silver for 1pc copper equivalent from a depth of 144m alerted the company that it was onto a potentially big discovery.
The drilling campaign is being funded by a South32 subsidiary under an existing earn-in and joint venture agreement that will see the large, globally diversified mining and metals company spend $3 million per year for five years.
The minimum $15m spend provides South 32 with a 60pc interest in the project, which Noronex manages.
The Fiesta project lies on the western closure of a structure at the prospective NPF-D’Kar contact.
The company believes the multiple intercepts at Fiesta across an increasingly bigger mineralised area potentially provide for thicker zones suitable for open pit mining, which could dramatically increase the economic tonnes at the site.
It says the mineralised intercepts appear to show similarities with deposits in Botswana that sit 400km to the east. These include Chinese miner MMG Ltd’s world-class Khoemacau copper-silver project containing a mineral resource of 502 million tonnes grading 1.4pc copper and 17g/t silver.
Noronex believes Africa is the place to be, with Namibia providing a favourable permitting regime relative to other copper-producing nations.
The Kalahari Belt region contains projects producing 90,000 tonnes of copper per annum and has a total of 8mt of copper resources.
Fiesta sits along the renowned Kalahari copper belt, stretching 800km and up to 250 kilometres wide, from northern Botswana into eastern Namibia.
The company recently lodged two new applications with the Department of Mines through a fully owned subsidiary company to increase its holdings in Botswana by almost 1500 square kilometres, adjacent to its promising Damara copper project on the Namibian side of the border.
The vast area applied for sits in the northern section of the Kalahari Copper Belt. Before the lease application, Noronex held an 8500km² exploration land package within the Kalahari copper belt.
Noronex kicked off its latest reverse circulation drilling program at Damara in January to test several compelling gravity and magnetic targets it says sit on the edges of the mineralised copper belt. The targets were defined by recent surveys conducted across the project, which is also a joint venture with South 32.
The additional ground will enable Noronex to test further geophysical targets, kicked up by the recent gravity surveys, that would be expected to extend into the Botswana side of the border.
Noronex also holds a 95pc interest in the Witvlei project in Namibia, containing a 10mt at 1.3pc copper resource.
Copper and silver prices have made a charge recently, with both up close to 8pc in the past month, pointing to Noronex’s wise decision to focus on prospective ground in southwest Africa, which is known for large deposits of the critical in-demand metals.
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