Godolphin Resources has identified new mineralisation at its Yeoval copper-gold prospect near Orange in NSW after a review of historical drill core pulled by a previous explorer in 2008. The company says its review of a pair of legacy samples unveiled visible copper sulphide mineralisation outside of the operation’s existing 12.8 million tonne resource.
Yeoval takes in roughly 60 historic copper-gold mine workings along a 20km strike length and boasts a 12.8 million tonnes resource at 0.38 per cent copper, 0.14 grams per tonne gold, 2.2 g/t silver and 120 parts per million molybdenum.
The company believes the discovery could promote an increase of the NSW-based project’s current inventory or lead to a fresh batch of exploration targets.
Godolphin made the breakthrough after its geologists reviewed samples at the NSW Core Library in western Sydney.
In addition to Yeoval’s core review, the company also assessed three previously unsampled specimens extracted about 7km southwest at a prospect known as “Goodrich”. The explorer says the play unveiled a swathe of visible copper sulphide material near the historic Goodrich Mine.
The mine was worked during the mid to late 1800s and took in a modest open-cut pit and a raft of shafts.
NSW-based Godolphin believes the three cores assessed were pulled in the early 2000s across areas adjacent to the mine and suggest the different style of mineralisation in the cores indicate the zone could offer additional copper.
According to Godolphin, the findings at both its Yeoval and Goodrich prospects underline the sites’ exploration upside and could be the catalyst for future work programs.
Godolphin Resources Managing Director Jeneta Owens said:“The core library at Londonderry is a fantastic facility and provides explorers the opportunity to view core from previous explorers across NSW. Having the ability to view drill core from the Company’s 100%-owned projects gives our geologists the ability to review the rock types, alteration and mineralisation styles which ultimately provides explorers with better project knowledge to assist in defining future exploration work.”
Meanwhile, the prospectivity of the company’s Burra Road prospect that sits inside the larger Gundagai North project in southern NSW has received a healthy boost after soil and rock chip samples bagged in the zone lit up a 2.2km long barium anomaly.
The company theorises the anomaly could be an indicator of a gold-in-soil target and plans are now in place to complete a follow-up surface sampling campaign at the site.
Godolphin is working up a series of assets in NSW and recently tabled a batch of solid precious metal hits at its Calarie project including a 2.4m intersection grading 15.69 g/t gold from 45m, inside a larger 10.6m section at 5.63 g/t from 39m.
With activity progressing across its suite of base and precious metal assets, the explorer is also active on the new energy front with its Narraburra rare earths project about 15km north of Temora in central west NSW. A recent diamond drilling program at the operation struck mineralisation grading up to 1027 parts per million total rare earth oxides.
Narraburra already houses a JORC 2004 inferred resource of 73.2 million tonnes and recent activity has been aimed at scrubbing this up to a more contemporary JORC 2012 classification.
The company’s assets collectively account for a 3400 square kilometre land package in NSW’s renowned Lachlan Fold Belt, an area celebrated for its gold, copper, lead and zinc resources.
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By Matt Birney
