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NEW DISCOVERY INDICATES POTENTIAL TO
EXTEND H4 COPPER DEPOSIT AT REKO DIQ
EXTENSIVE LEACHED CAPPING DISCOVERED WEST OF H4 STARTER PROJECT
Emerging base metals group Tethyan Copper Company Limited (ASX:TYC) has continued its run
of exploration success at the Reko Diq Copper-Gold Project, today announcing the discovery of
extensive leached cap rock some 500 metres west of the H4 Project – an indication that this initial
‘Starter Project’ may be bigger than first thought.
The H4 Project is currently the subject of a feasibility study and is slated for fast-track development
as the Company’s first mine at Reko Diq – an emerging copper district already known to contain
over 11 billion pounds of copper and 9 million ounces of gold in Indicated and Inferred Resources.
The indication of possible extensions to the H4 resource was discovered during mapping and
trenching approximately 500 metres west of H4. This work revealed an extensive zone of hematitic
leached capping beneath shallow cover. Such material is derived from the leaching of a sulphiderich
progenitor. The sulphides leached from the cap rock are typically re-deposited beneath the
surface in a zone of supergene enrichment, a common mechanism for the development of ore bodies
such as H4.
The Company will undertake an Induced Polarisation survey over the area in the near future in
order to define targets for drill testing.
Recent drilling includes 579 metres of diamond core in four holes at the H4 Project, with a fifth
hole now underway. These holes were drilled to obtain metallurgical samples for column leach test
work – a long lead-time item that requires an early start. The Company already has two column
leach tests underway in Perth, using samples collected from an earlier round of drilling.
One new hole has also been completed into the H36 Complex, one of the porphyry systems in the
gold-enriched Southern Porphyry Belt. This belt also hosts the H9 Porphyry system, in which two
recent holes intersected extensive copper and gold mineralisation (reported 14 January 2004). The
first new hole into H36 (RDDD124) terminated at its target depth of 280 metres and a second is due
to start very shortly.
Additional mapping and sampling and some trenching is underway over the poorly exposed H2 and
H11 Complexes. Drill pads have been prepared at the H35 Complex – a little known porphyry
system located just east of the very large Inferred Resource at the Western Porphyries.
The second drill rig has cleared customs in Karachi and is currently being serviced before moving
to site. The third drill rig is en route to Karachi. Both additional rigs are expected to be drilling at
Reko Diq before the end of March.