When an experienced geologist of over 30 years gets an...

When an experienced geologist of over 30 years gets an unexpected surprise, in an area of known mineralisation, I think it tells you something about how unexplained a regions geology can be. What one thought, can be rewritten.

I have to admit that I’m guilty of making the over-explored assumption of the Mt Isa Inlier. Especially considering that, for almost 100 years, that this well-worn and trodden terrane would be structurally understood by now. And surely the best parts have been exploited and in particular, the part right in the heart of it.

To the contrary, the potential is still quite compelling. In this recent video talk with Samso, IW wasn’t expecting the assay results of rock chips to have any gold in it, let alone 7.96g/t Au. Notably, it came from a location that he was just passing through. Yet, it was taken from an iron-oxide breccia outcrop that is unknown on the government data-based (see approx 12 min +). Similarly the gold potential at Mt Zsu Sui was also a surprise (see approx 13.30 min).

On a different note, further digging around, I found this extract from a recent article on Tick Hill (located near by) to be very interesting:
‘Whilst Cu-Au IOCG deposits are common in the Mt Isa Inlier, especially in the higher grade and more strongly deformed Eastern Fold Belt (Fig. 1), gold grades in such deposits rarely exceed 1–2 g/t, and gold-rich deposits are rare (e.g. Duncan et al., 2011, Denaro et al., 2013). One notable exception to this is the Tick Hill Gold Deposit…’ ‘… little is known about the deposit other than that it is a gold-rich, shear-hosted hydrothermal deposit that has been interpreted as a possible end-member IOCG deposit.Science Direct, Introduction, 3rd paragraph.

The Copper Metals story has only just begun but the story is already revealing some promising signs.

All IMO, DYOR