Infinity Mining is gearing up for its first East Pilbara drill campaign for 2023 after receiving cultural heritage clearance from the Nyamal Aboriginal Corporation to explore its Hillside nickel-copper project.
The company has appointed iDrilling Australia to kick off a nine-hole RC program to test surface geochemistry and anomalies highlighted in a 2018 air-borne electromagnetic survey.
It has also received program of works approvals from the WA Department of Mining, Industry Regulation and Safety and has already been building road access and drilling pads to support RC drilling.
In March, Infinity identified a host of valuable minerals from reconnaissance rock-chip sampling at Hillside, including anomalous results for copper, molybdenum, gold and silver. Samples returned values of up to 4539 parts per million copper, 1198ppm molybdenum, 0.68 grams per tonne gold and 14g/t silver. The exploration program also identified a partially-covered copper-stained quartz vein in granite that runs about 170m on the western side of its operation.
The company’s 2018 helicopter electromagnetic survey identified 18 anomalies the company considered worthy of further exploration. Follow-up rock-chip sampling returned several gold results, including 30.25ppm and 21.89ppm gold. Another assay from the southern area of the project returned copper results at an impressive 70771ppm, or 7.08 per cent.
Infinity Mining chief executive officer Joe Groot said: “Infinity has been working up these targets for some years, with the helicopter electromagnetic (SkyTEM) survey flown in 2018 reinterpreted by NEWEXCO, combining open file magnetics and gravity data. The objective of this is to identify conductive anomalies that may be sourced by bedrock conductors such as copper-nickel massive sulphide accumulation. It is the time to test these identified structured anomalies. “
Hillside sits within the Coongan Greenstone Belt between the Shaw Batholith to the west and Corunna Downs Batholith to the east. The explorer believes the project has the potential to host copper-rich volcanogenic massive sulphide deposits similar to the nearby Sulphur Springs and Kangaroo Caves deposits. Sulphur Springs holds 17.4 million tonnes at 1.3 per cent copper, 4.2 per cent zinc and 17g/t silver, while the Kangaroo Caves deposit hosts 3.55 million tonnes at 6 per cent zinc, 0.77 per cent copper and 15.2g/t silver.
Historical exploration at the site has been conducted by several companies, including Alcoa in 1980 and Great Southern Mining in 1984. Great Southern conducted a rock-chip sample program that returned 20 results with more than 1000ppm copper, with one sample reaching 7800ppm, or 7.8 per cent. In 2019, FE Limited, as part of a joint venture with Infinity, completed a 36-hole scout program that returned anomalous copper results.
With all approvals now firmly in place, Infinity is keen to get to work at its highly-prospective Pilbara project. The company holds more than 680 square kilometres of tenements in the region, including its Tambourah South lithium project and the Brisbane nickel prospect where a maiden RC drill program will also start this year.
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By Michael Philipps
