Copper, gold and uranium systems at Cloncurry Project
Ivanhoe RC drilling near Amethyst Castle
Exploration activities at the Ivanhoe Mines’ Cloncurry Project in the Mt. Isa District of northwestern Queensland have discovered a series of related Iron Oxide Copper Gold (IOCG) systems, some of which have associated uranium, according to Ivanhoe Mines Chairman, Robert Friedland and the company’s Executive Vice-President, Exploration, Douglas Kirwin.
Speaking at the Sydney Mining Club following the announcement, Mr Friedland said diamond and reverse circulation drilling conducted at the company’s Swan, Amethyst Castle, Castle Mount and Metal Ridge prospects had successfully encountered copper, gold and uranium mineralisation in intense alteration zones typical of important IOCG deposits around the world.
The current drilling program has expanded copper and gold mineralisation discovered at the Swan Deposit in a 2005 drill program. Ivanhoe is conducting a close-spaced, diamond drilling program to delineate a copper and gold resource at the Swan Project.
In addition, reconnaissance drilling at the Amethyst Castle and Castle Mount prospects has encountered significant intersections of classic IOGC-style breccias similar to those that host economic mineralisation at the Ernest Henry Mine, near Cloncurry, and the Olympic Dam and Prominent Hill deposits in South Australia. A first-pass drill program at the Metal Ridge prospect has encountered significant copper and gold mineralisation similar in style to the Swan Deposit.
Based on these positive results, Ivanhoe intends to increase its exploration efforts at Cloncurry in 2007 to include detailed gravity surveys, closely-spaced diamond drilling to define a copper-gold resource at Swan, and an aggressive reconnaissance drilling program to delineate additional mineralisation at the highly prospective Amethyst Castle and Metal Ridge targets. The company currently has three rigs on site, with drilling underway.
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