700m vertical depth is barely a scratch on the surface of a sedimentary basin. The original figure of 700m was probably just the limit of the government co-funding for this hole. Sipa will keep drilling.
However, final hole depth will be constrained by the depth capacity of the drilling rig, and this may well be reached before the anomaly is satisfactorily explained.
All geophysical interpretations have a range of possible 'solutions', and the modelled solution that they are drilling here (one theoretical combination of magnetic susceptibility / depth / shape / size / orientation), whilst it may have been chosen as the most likely, need not actually reflect the reality at depth.
My guess is that the source of this large magnetic anomaly will be significantly deeper than was originally hoped.
Interestingly though, the depth capacity of a drilling rig can be limited by a number of things, including the power of the pull-back hydraulics to lift the drill-string back up out of the hole, and in this case a kilometre-plus length of high-grade steel drill rods is not light!
The sell-off today might suggest that the rig has reached its depth capacity without a clear visual explanation of the magnetic anomaly. However, the assay results from a down-dip, unweathered intersection of the (highly copper-gold anomalous at surface) Johnson's Cairn shale may still prove to be encouraging. In fact I would be surprised if they weren't.
(Don't pay attention to me though. I am not a financial adviser.)
SRI Price at posting:
12.0¢ Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held
