In a surprise announcement, small explorer Magmatic Resources (ASX:MAG) is revisiting its Myall copper gold prospect in the NSW Central West, near Alkane, Evolution, and Newmont/Newcrest's significant mines and prospects. The company believes it had initially misinterpreted the results from a 22-hole drilling campaign.
Magmatic has previously estimated the prospect to hold 110 million tonnes of resources with an average copper equivalent value of 0.33 grams per tonne, including a small amount of gold. While not substantial, this discovery has maintained the company's interest.
In Tuesday's release, Magmatic referred to it as a "Re-evaluation of the geological model for the Corvette/Kingswood region at Myall," which commenced late last year after analyzing the recent drilling program's results.
"This reinterpretation has resulted in a breakthrough in understanding the geology at Myall, particularly the extensive strike potential of the mineralized system," the company explained.
"The revised interpretation indicates that Corvette is mainly associated with a moderate east-dipping and north to north-northwest-striking breccia zone at the contact of an earlier monzonite body (breccia and monzonite are rock types commonly linked to metal deposits).
"This modeling clarifies the recent drilling results at Corvette and, for the first time, predicts the system's strike, dip, and approximate true width," Magmatic stated.
Due to the alignment of Magmatic and previous drill holes, very little of the extensive Corvette target zone has been explored, and it remains almost entirely unexplored along strike in both directions.
The revised model identifies definitive follow-up targets and suggests the potential for rapid growth in the mineralized system with limited additional exploration.
In essence, Magmatic admits it had been approaching the prospect incorrectly and missed most of the intriguing aspects.
Magmatic now acknowledges the "recognition that the Corvette prospect has an easterly dip and a north-northwest strike has significant implications not only for the interpretation of the previous drilling results but also immediately enhances the prospectivity and resource potential of the Corvette and Kingswood areas."
This appears to be especially true at the Corvette prospect, and Magmatic noted on Tuesday that when considering additional information, "Corvette mineralization remains entirely open in all directions to the east of this contact and remains virtually untested for hundreds to thousands of meters to the south and north."
Magmatic CEO, Dr. Adam McKinnon, stated in Tuesday's release:
"Over the past 18 months, the Company's technical team has been diligently working to unlock the enormous potential of the Myall Project. Since the basement rocks containing the copper-gold system are completely obscured by post-mineralization cover, this has involved highly detailed logging and interpretation of each of the 22 diamond holes completed so far, along with re-logging of previous drill core.
"The fact that the current model aligns so well with multiple independent geological, geochemical, geostatistical, and geophysical datasets gives us a great deal of confidence.
"We can now explain a significant portion of the observed variation in mineralization grade and distribution from past drilling in the Corvette and Kingswood areas, which has significant implications for the prospectivity of the broader region.
"Perhaps most exciting for me is that it appears that a combination of system orientation, collar locations, and drilling direction have resulted in only a tiny fraction of the target zone being effectively tested at Corvette.
"This means that the prospective target zone remains effectively untested by diamond drilling along strike in either direction, representing an unparalleled opportunity to rapidly expand the known Mineral Resources."
