Kuniko Limited’s phase two diamond drilling campaign at its Silica Hill prospect in New South Wales has hit promising visual sulphides in several holes for the program, potentially extending the mineralised system by an extra 100 metres in depth.
The company has now punched out 1324m of drilling in its ongoing program at Silica Hill, part of its broader Commonwealth gold-silver project in the fabled Lachlan Fold Belt. The latest holes have provided compelling evidence that the system continues to grow, with one hole intersecting a broad 70m-wide zone of sulphides and visually impressive veins up to half a metre thick.
The company says its latest and fifth hole has also lit up with multiple visually prominent sulphide veins up to 50cm thick as it steps out to test the interpreted “Northern Lode” of the dual-loded Silica at depth.
Kuniko’s latest drilling is building on the success of its recent phase one campaign, which delivered a spectacular intercept of 0.5m grading 20,603 grams per tonne (g/t) silver and 27g/t gold. That bonanza hit provided the impetus for the current systematic step-out program as the company looks to understand the major controls of its high-grade polymetallic system.
Management says phase two drilling has now outlined two distinct mineralised lodes at Silica – a Northern Lode and a Southern Lode. Recent drilling has focused on thickening the Southern Lode, while also delivering a significant step-out hit that has extended the Northern Lode at depth.
The company believes the project’s upside extends well beyond the known mineralisation. A recently completed geophysical review identified a prominent gravity-low feature associated with the existing mineralised system that continues for more than 500m to the south-east into largely untested ground. The anomaly suggests Silica could be part of a much larger district-scale mineralised system.
Kuniko Limited managing director Maja McGuire said: "Phase two drilling continues to build our confidence in the scale and continuity of the Silica Hill mineralised system. With 1324m now drilled, we have systematically stepped out from the known mineralisation and are seeing encouraging sulphide development across a significantly expanded footprint."
The Commonwealth project sits 100 kilometres north of Orange in what is considered elephant country for mineral explorers. The region is populated by NSW’s prolific Lachlan Fold Belt, which is dotted with world-class operations including Newmont’s massive Cadia-Ridgeway mine and Evolution Mining’s Cowal and Northparkes projects. Kuniko’s ground also lies along-trend from Alkane Resources’ significant Boda-Kaiser porphyry copper-gold discovery.
Kuniko’s earn-in and joint venture with Impact Minerals give it the right to secure up to a 90 per cent interest in the project, which already hosts two JORC-inferred mineral resource estimates at the Commonwealth and Silica Hill deposits.
With drilling continuing, the company is now awaiting lab assays from the latest holes, which are expected in the next four to six weeks.
After drilling is complete and all outstanding assays are received, Kuniko plans to deliver an upgraded mineral resource estimate for the project in December, incorporating results from its phase one and two programs.
With a string of visual sulphide hits from the drill bit in a proven mineral province, Kuniko looks to be steadily unravelling the scale of the Silica system. The geology is doing the talking for now, but with assays pending and a resource update on the horizon, the market may not have to wait long to find out whether the visuals translate into something much bigger.
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By Andrew Todd
