Castillo Copper (ASX:CCZ) starts drilling at Queensland IOCG project
Mining
ASX:CCZ MCAP $54.64M 27 October 2020 08:12
- Castillo Copper (CCZ) has started drilling at the Big One deposit, which is part of its Mt Oxide project in Queensland
- A comprehensive reverse circulation (RC) drilling campaign will focus on a strike zone of around 580 by 120 metres to a depth of 190m below surface
- The zone runs parallel to known mineralisation grading up to up to 28.4 per cent copper, with the best economic intercept of 3 metres at 12.25 per cent
- The campaign's main goal is to probe the supergene copper mineralisation at depth to see if it transitions to underlying sulphides
- Upon completion of the campaign, CCZ should have considerable insights about the scalability of the Big One Deposit
Castillo Copper (ASX:CCZ) has commenced drilling at the Big One deposit, which is part of its Mt Oxide project in Queensland.
The Big One
Castillo will be hoping the name says it all.
A 4,385-metre reverse circulation (RC) drilling campaign, consisting of 35 drill holes will focus on a strike zone of around 580 by 120 metres to test for mineralisation up to 190m below surface.
The program will target a zone parallel to known mineralisation. The campaign's main goal is to probe the supergene copper mineralisation at depth to see if it transitions to underlying sulphides.
The previous drilling intersected up to 28.4 per cent copper, with the best high-grade economic intercept of 3 metres at 12.25 per cent.
Two diamond drill holes will also be drilled at acute angles to target shallow supergene mineralisation at vertical depths ranging from around 26 to 52 metres.
The next steps
Upon completion of the campaign, CCZ should have considerable insights about the scalability of the Big One Deposit.
If the parallel zone is as rich as the main zone, the find will provide significant economies of scale when it comes time to mine.
The shallow, high-grade copper resource had previously been explored by BHP. The mining giant was likely to pull the trigger on the development when copper prices crashed in the 1990s.
Now, Castillo can capitalise on BHP's bad luck.
Results are expected in coming weeks as core samples are analysed.
Game Changing target identified at Big One Deposit
Castillo Copper Finalised drilling logistics for Mt. Oxide - The Market Herald Live, October 2020
Latest Investor Updates and Project Updates for Castillo Copper with Ged Hall - September 2020
Investor Updates with Castillo Copper, Non-Exec Director Gerrard Hall - Ayra Prospect, Mt. Oxide Pillar - 12/06/20
Video Update with Simon Paul, MD Castillo Copper - 13th May 2020
April Updates with Gerrard Hall, Castillo Copper - April 2020
Castillo Copper, Strategy & Copper in 2020
Castillo Copper (ASX:CCZ) completes Eldorado review
Mining
ASX:CCZ MCAP $39.46M 06 October 2020 14:30
- Castillo Copper's (CCZ) geology team has completed a review of the Eldorado prospect at the Mt Oxide Project in Queensland
- The geology team has interpreted Eldorado to be primarily prospective for structurally controlled copper and gold mineralisation
- Up to 5400ppm (parts per million) copper and up to 35ppm gold has been identified
- The team will now undertake a site visit to determine the accuracy of this interpretation
- The company's next steps include beginning drilling at the Mt Oxide Project, and providing updates for the Broken Hill and Mkushi Projects
- Castillo is up 7.69 per cent and shares are trading for 4.2 cents each
Castillo Copper's (CCZ) geology team has completed a review of the Eldorado prospect at the Mt Oxide Project in Queensland.
The geology team has interpreted Eldorado to be primarily prospective for structurally controlled copper and gold mineralisation.
The team will now undertake a site visit to determine the accuracy of this interpretation.
After reviewing and analysing historical soil samples, Castillo verified several anomalous geochemical zones within the Grid A and Eldorado soil grids.
Both of these grids have elevated copper-gold readings that require follow-up work.
Up to 5400ppm (parts per million) copper was returned from Grid A and up to 35ppm gold was identified at Eldorado.
"The geological review has provided Castillo with invaluable insights into ten viable targets across the Mt Oxide Project," Managing Director Simon Paull commented.
"Furthermore, this clearly delivers a significant pipeline of exploratory work ahead, on top of the targeted drilling campaign which is slated to get underway at the Big One Deposit and Arya Prospect shortly," he added.
Read the full article on The Market Herald here: https://themarketherald.com.au/castillo-copper-asxccz-completes-eldorado-review-2020-10-06/
14th July 2020 - The Market Herald
- Castillo Copper (CCZ) has finalised all targets for its upcoming drilling program at the Ayra prospect and Big One Deposit in WA
- The aim of these programs is to determine the scalability of both Ayra and Big One, as well as outline how deep the mineralisation extends
- Drilling will begin at the Ayra prospect, then move to the Big One Deposit once final approvals have been received
- Simultaneously, Castillo Copper is undertaking desktop reviews on the Valparaisa and El Dorado prospects
- Castillo Copper is up 5.26 per cent on the market this morning and shares are trading for four cents each
Castillo Copper (CCZ) has finalised all targets for its upcoming drilling program at the Ayra prospect and Big One Deposit in WA.
The aim of these programs is to determine the scalability of both Ayra and Big One as well as outline how deep the mineralisation extends.
Ayra prospect
On July 1, Castillo Copper announced it will drill 14 holes to target a potential massive sulphide conductor and near-surface targets.
Previous work done by other companies has confirmed high-grade copper mineralisation at surface, returning up to 18,400 parts per million copper.
Once a drilling contractor has been secured and all regulatory approvals are in place, drilling will begin at Arya.
Big One Deposit
Once drilling has been completed at Ayra, work will begin at the Big One Deposit, where up to 28.4 per cent copper has been intersected.
However, work can only begin once final approvals have been received, but these are expected shortly.
A 35-hole reverse circulation (RC) drill program will kick-off the work, with aims to build on previous knowledge.
Additionally, a two-hole diamond drill program will be completed, focusing on shallow supergene mineralisation targets.
"Behind the scenes, our team is working at a frenetic pace to ensure all the logistics are in place so that we can move ahead with the inaugural Mt Oxide pillar drilling campaign," Managing Director Simon Paull commented.
"For Ayra and Big One Deposit, our objective with the upcoming drilling campaign is to extend known mineralisation and determine potential scalability," he said.
"As such, one of the key focuses is to test how far high-grade supergene ore extends from surface along the strike extent and if this transitions into underlying sulphides at depth," he added.
Simultaneously, Castillo Copper is undertaking desktop reviews on the Valparaisa and El Dorado prospects.
Castillo Copper is up 5.26 per cent on the market this morning and shares are trading for four cents each at 10:40 am AEST.
Read the full article on the Market Herald - 14th July 2020
Mt. Oxide - Expanded Drilling Targets at Big One Deposit
- Continuing a review of all relevant historical reports1 related to the Big One Deposit, within the Mt Oxide pillar, CCZ’s geology team has expanded the upcoming RC drilling campaign to include the following targets:
❖ Along the line of lode at depth below known shallow supergene ore mineralisation, which is 600m long, and includes three historic open pit workings1
❖ A sizeable gossan2 , based on historic surface observations that is circa 200m north from the line of lode
❖ Several areas south from the line of lode where field work observations show elevated copper mineralisation at surface3
- This drill program is designed to verify the four factors underpinning the Big One Deposit’s upside1 which complement the supergene mineralised porphyry dyke:
❖ Strongly altered hanging wall mineralisation containing malachite / cuprite nodules4
❖ Footwall fault gouge and elevated altered sediments4
❖ Gossan mineralisation2 , and
❖ Mineralised sulphides beneath the supergene ore layer
- The best economic intercepts from previous drilling in 1993 (including up to 28.4% Cu4 ) targeted shallow high-grade supergene ore from surface, comprised:
❖ B07: 3m @ 12.25% Cu from 42m incl: 2m @ 17.87% Cu from 43m; and 1m @ 28.4% Cu from 44m
❖ B05: 8m @ 2.33% Cu from 44m incl: 6m @ 3.00% Cu from 45m; and 5m @ 3.28% Cu from 45m
❖ B06: 4m @ 2.20% Cu from 44m incl: 2m @ 3.19% Cu from 46m and 1m @ 3.63% Cu from 47m
❖ B25: 6m @ 1.55% Cu from 66m incl: 5m @ 1.79% Cu from 66m and 2m @ 2.08% Cu from 66m4
- The Board will provide a detailed update on plans for the Arya prospect, selected drilling contractor and status quo on regulatory approvals in due course
Castillo Copper’s Managing Director Simon Paull commented: “As noted in our mid-January release, there is a lot of upside potential from progressing plans to drill the Big One Deposit. The main focus of the expanded drilling program is to hit all the main targets along the line of lode, particularly to test for extensions to known mineralisation at depth. In addition, there are now targets north and south of the strike zone which are highly prospective for underlying copper mineralisation. The Board is extremely eager to continue exploring the Mt Oxide project as the ongoing geological review has uncovered some excellent targets to test-drill.”
Castillo Copper Limited (“CCZ”) is pleased to announce expanded drilling targets for the Big One Deposit (refer Appendix A), within the Mt Oxide pillar, following a final review of all relevant historic geology reports1 .
Large mineralised system, with IOCG targets, identified at Mt Oxide pillar
- Detailed work on Flapjack (an IOCG target), within the Mt Oxide pillar, has interpreted it to be part of a larger mineralised system that comprises the Crescent1 (IOCG) and Johnnies2 (shearhosted copper/supergene ore) prospects
- This is a significant development which further enhances the exploration upside and potential scale for the Mt Oxide pillar
- Flapjack, which is within a zone of structurally controlled ENE trending haematitic-quartz veins, is on a circa 10km alteration trend that follows fault lines that closely passes Johnnies2 then connects with the IOCG target zone in the Crescent prospect1
- Historic reports3 on the Flapjack prospect verify the presence of gold within the haematitic-quartz veins and a distinct chlorite alternation which is a potential indicator for IOCG mineralisation
- Encouragingly, high-grade surface assays for coincident goldcopper occurrences provide further support to the presence of potential IOCG mineralisation:
❖ Rock chip: up to 1.37ppm Au and 606ppm Cu3
❖ Stream sediment: up to 820ppb Au and 50ppm Cu3
❖ Soil: up to 81ppb Au and 292ppm Cu3
- Around 600m south-west of Flapjack’s soil-grid is a 250m by 150m sub-surface anomaly, discovered by an aeromagnetic GEOTEM survey and on the fault line, which is a future primary drill target, subject to follow up field work verification3
- While the current focus is progressing the Big One Deposit and the Arya prospect drilling campaign, discovering a large mineralised system, comprising Flapjack, Crescent and Johnnies, will generate a significant number of future drill targets
Castillo Copper’s Managing Director Simon Paull commented: “As we wind up the current geological review on the eight prospects across the Mt Oxide pillar, we continue to be surprised to the upside by the findings. Having a large relatively under-explored mineralised system, comprising three prospects that are known IOCG and shear-hosted copper targets, still leaves plenty of work ahead to extend these areas materially. Our teams are now working at a rapid pace to secure the necessary approvals to commence drilling at the Arya prospect and Big One Deposit.”
Castillo Copper Limited (“CCZ”) is delighted to announce a large mineralised system has been identified at the Mt Oxide pillar which captures the Flapjack, Crescent and Johnnies prospects.
LARGE MINERALISED SYSTEM
A closer review of the Flapjack prospect has verified it is within a zone of structurally controlled ENE trending haematitic-quartz veins. More significantly, based on interpretations by CCZ’s independent geology consultant (through analysing historic geophysics and geochemical data3 ), the Flapjack and Crescent prospects, which are circa 6km apart, are on the same fault system (Figure 1).
This is a significant finding as the Flapjack and Crescent prospects are both prospective IOCG targets. Further work, specifically targeting the trajectory of this fault, will be required to determine the extent and scale of prospective IOCG mineralisation, allowing test-drill targets to be formulated.
Incrementally, factoring in Johnnies, a shear-hosted copper / supergene ore target, proximity to the fault line, there is anecdotal evidence all three prospects are sub-components of a larger mineralised system. Holistically, this significantly enhances Mt Oxide pillar’s exploration upside, especially IOCG potential, through providing further targets to investigate along the prospective mineralised trend.
FIGURE 1: FAULT INTERPRETATION LINKING FLAPJACK & CRESCET PROSPECTS
Read the full article on The Market Herald Here
- Castillo Copper (CCZ) plans to expedite twin drilling programs at two priority targets at its Mt Oxide Pillar in Queensland’s copper-belt
- The Arya Prospect is prospective for iron oxide copper-gold mineralisation and comprises a sizeable massive sulphide bedrock conductor indicative
- BHP's preliminary sampling of surface rock chips, up to 1.84 per cent copper, were interpreted as up-dip extensions to the main sulphide body correlating with the bedrock conductor
- Previous drilling at the Big One Deposit intersected up to 28.4 per cent copper in a shallow high-grade supergene copper orebody
- As test-drill targets have been finalised, Castillo will be inviting contractors to submit quotes for the twin drilling programs
- The final step, prior to drilling commencing, is securing approval from Queensland’s resources regulator
- Castillo Copper is trading grey at market open, with shares selling for 1.7 cents each
Base metals explorer Castillo Copper (CCZ), has announced plans to expedite twin drilling programs at its Mt Oxide pillar in Queensland’s copper-belt.
High-quality drill targets
Both targets have exploration histories dating back to the 1990s, but a downturn in base metal prices meant the sites were only minimally explored and exploited.
Castillo believes the time is now right to take another look at the sizeable massive sulphide bedrock conductor at the Arya Prospect, and the shallow high-grade supergene copper orebody at the Big One Deposit.
Arya prospect
Arya's massive sulphide bedrock conductor has been identified twice now via electromagnetic surveys — once by BHP in 1997, and again by Geoscience Australia in 2019.
BHP's preliminary sampling of surface rock chips, up to 1.84 per cent copper, were interpreted as up-dip extensions to the main sulphide body correlating with the bedrock conductor.
BHP initially recommended follow-up drilling at Arya, but never went ahead due to the base metal downturn in the late 1990s.
In addition, the site appears highly prospective for iron oxide copper-gold mineralisation.
Big One deposit
- The Big One Deposit was originally targeted by West Australian Metals (WME) in 1992.
- The company undertook a 27-hole reverse circulation (RC) drilling program for 1673 metres.
- The drilling intersected shallow high-grade supergene copper ore, with intercepts up to 28.4 per cent copper.
- In 1997, WME mined around 4400 tonnes of ore at an average grade of 3.5 per cent copper from a shallow open-pit operation.
- Records obtained from the WME campaign indicate a north-east trending fault of supergene copper ore intruded by a porphyry dyke — suggesting the possibility of additional mineralised conduits.
Next steps
Given the ample supply of data points from the historic surveys and exploration at the two sites, Castillo believes an expedited drilling program at optimised targets should yield further promising results.
As the drill-test targets have been finalised, Castillo will be inviting contractors to submit quotes for the twin drilling programs.
Discussions with the necessary landholders and access agreements are mostly in place and a contractor has already been selected to clear nearby access tracks that were damaged through the wet season.
All that remains now is the final approval from Queensland's resources regulators to authorise the proposed drilling campaigns. Once that approval is attained, the drill teams will be fast-tracked to site.
Castillo can then start getting drilling at the Arya Prospect and Big One Deposit - hopefully with further good news to follow.
Castillo Copper is trading grey at market open, with shares selling for 1.7 cents each at 10:13 am AEST
