Everest Metals Corporation is on a mission to add copper to its Revere gold project near Meekatharra in Western Australia’s Mid West region, with a diamond drill campaign kicking off just 50km south-east of Sandfire Resources’ DeGrussa copper-gold project.
The 1000m program has been designed to test for volcanic-hosted massive sulphides (VHMS) that have been modelled to occur at depth and will include three diamond holes sunk to about 350m.
Revere consists of four granted tenements and four others under application in an area of about 82 square kilometres. Everest says historical exploration at the operation primarily focused on gold targets that could be mined by shallow open pit-methods. Deeper exploration was generally limited to the immediate shallow reverse-circulation (RC) drilling that aimed to locate quartz vein-bearing gold.
The company re-modelled and reinterpreted historical data using modern technology with results showing the potential for VHMS copper-gold mineralisation. Management says that at depth, the anomalous high copper, zinc, and arsenic values show potential for a DeGrussa-style copper-gold deposit below the zone of complete oxidisation.
Everest Metals Corporation chief operating officer Simon Phillips said: “There has been a substantial amount of work completed over the years leading up to the commencement of this diamond drilling programme at the Revere Gold Project. None more important than our recent technical and geophysical data reinterpretation which confirmed the potential for occurrences of the Doolgunna formation which is known to host DeGrussa style Volcanic Hosted Massive Sulphides. We are very excited at the prospect of turning the Revere Gold Project into the Revere Copper and Gold Project on the back of a successful drilling campaign.”
DeGrussa sits along strike and lies 55km north-east of Revere. Sandfire’s asset is one of the Asia-Pacific region’s premier high-grade copper mines in terms of production and churns out about 300,000 tonnes of high-grade copper concentrate each year, in addition to about one tonne of gold.
According to the WA Department of Mining, Industry Regulation and Safety, the DeGrussa site employs some 420 people and is the State’s biggest copper producing operation. Incredibly, the mine went from discovery to production in just three years, with the department taking just eight months to complete the mine approval process.
Everest says DeGrussa was discovered in follow-up drilling of a zone of oxide gold mineralisation similar to that found at Revere. Copper and gold deposits in the region are generally considered shear-hosted shoots comprised of high-grade lodes.
If the copper-gold mineralisation at DeGrussa can be replicated at Revere, Everest has the potential to make a significant copper discovery with its latest drill campaign.
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By Michael Philipps
