Ann: Drilling underway at Bald Hill Cobalt Copper Prospect, page-2

Rimfire Pacific Mining Launches Diamond Drilling at Bald Hill Cobalt-Copper Prospect

• StockHound
• August 8, 2024
• 8:19 am
• Mining News

Key Take Away: Rimfire Pacific Mining (ASX: RIM) has commenced a 1,000-metre diamond drilling program at its wholly-owned Bald Hill Cobalt-Copper Prospect within the Broken Hill Project in New South Wales. The drilling aims to test the significance of a strong magnetic anomaly that could potentially extend the previously intersected high-grade cobalt and copper mineralisation.






Rimfire Pacific Mining is on a mission to uncover critical minerals associated with global decarbonisation strategies, such as scandium, platinum group elements (PGEs), copper, and cobalt. While the company remains focused on delivering a maiden scandium JORC resource at its Fifield and Avondale projects, it is equally keen to advance the highly prospective Broken Hill Project, particularly the Bald Hill prospect.

The Bald Hill prospect has already shown promise, with previous drilling intercepts including 125m at 0.13% cobalt from 198m, 58m at 0.13% cobalt from 62m, and 6m at 0.51% copper from 56m. These results, combined with a very strong magnetic anomaly along strike, suggest that Bald Hill could host a cobalt and copper deposit.


Rimfire’s Managing Director, David Hutton, said: “Rimfire is exploring throughout New South Wales for critical minerals that are associated with global decarbonisation strategies, such as scandium, PGEs, copper, and cobalt. While we remain firmly focussed on delivering a maiden scandium JORC resource at Fifield and Avondale, we are also keen to advance our highly prospective Broken Hill Project especially the Bald Hill prospect. Given the existing drill intercepts coincide with an outstanding magnetic anomaly along strike and with all targets lying within a favourable geological setting we think that Bald Hill is an exciting opportunity to discover a significant cobalt and copper deposit. We look forward to providing further market updates as new information comes to hand.”

The magnetic anomaly at Bald Hill, identified through detailed ground magnetic surveying, is deemed a worthy target by the company. It trends north-northeast, dips to the southeast, and has a near-surface extent of 450m by 400m, reaching a vertical depth of approximately 300m. 3D modelling suggests that Rimfire’s previous diamond holes just clipped the top of this anomaly, making it a prime target for the current drilling program.

The company has identified several other targets across the Broken Hill Project, including Bald Hill Northeast, Black Hill East, Staurolite Ridge, and Railway Extension. Each of these prospects shows potential for cobalt, copper, or rare earth element mineralisation, providing Rimfire with a pipeline of exploration opportunities.

The Broken Hill region is no stranger to significant cobalt and copper deposits. Havilah Resources’ Mutooroo Deposit, located 35km southwest of Bald Hill, boasts 191Kt of copper, 20Kt of cobalt, and 86Koz of gold. Meanwhile, Cobalt Blue’s Broken Hill Cobalt Project, just 10km south of Bald Hill, has a global Mineral Resource estimate of 126.5Mt at 867 ppm cobalt equivalent.

Cobalt and copper are both critical components in the global shift towards cleaner energy. Cobalt is a key ingredient in lithium-ion batteries, which power electric vehicles and energy storage systems. Copper, often called the “metal of electrification,” is essential for wiring, motors, and renewable energy infrastructure. As the world moves to reduce carbon emissions, demand for these metals is expected to rise.

Rimfire’s exploration efforts at Bald Hill and the broader Broken Hill Project could potentially position the company to benefit from this growing demand. The current drilling program, expected to take 6-7 weeks, could be a defining chapter.