Silver Swan Group (ASX: SWN) is a polymetallic explorer with tenements in the Murchison District of the Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia. The company's current focus is on lode-gold, syn-tectonic copper-gold and volcanogenic massive sulphide (Cu-Zn-Ag-Au) mineralisation in Archaean terranes. Exploration tenements held by Silver Swan in the Murchison District cover 680 square kilometres.
Silver Swan Group drilling adds further evidence of major VMS camp evolving at Quinns
Today's results from drilling at Flinders and Murchison Wonder prospects within the Quinns VMS discovery, display a steadily building picture of Quinns developing into a potentially major new VMS camp in the Yilgarn. Significant VMS projects have been discovered in the region
Silver Swan Group (ASX: SWN) has returned highly promising results from 3,309 metres of drilling at its Flinders and Murchison Wonder prospects within its Quinns VMS project.
New VMS sulphide mineralisation has been intersected at the Flinders prospect with a total of six diamond and one reverse circulation holes drilled (assays are pending).
Zinc copper lead mineralisation was intersected and the grade is to be confirmed by assays which are pending.
A total of five reverse circulation holes have been completed at the Murchison Wonder VMS prospect with up to 5.5% zinc mineralisation intersected. The prospects are located only 10-15 kilometres north east of Silver Swan’s Austin VMS deposit.
The style and tenor of mineralisation intersected are typical of what is to be expected in close proximity to a VMS deposit and the company has commenced a new electromagnetic (EM) program to assist in targeting additional drilling at Flinders.
Quinns is located 55 kilometres south of Meekatharra covering a tenement area of 45 square kilometres, where Silver Swan discovered the Austin volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposit in the Quinns project area and subsequently defined a Resource of 1.48 million tonnes at 1.02% copper, 10.39% zinc, 0.24g/t silver and 3.31g/t gold.
Susan Vearncombe, Silver Swan’s managing director, said “we continue to be encouraged by the exploration results on our Quinns property. History shows that discovering a VMS deposit is never a quick process, however we have a great head start given that we have already discovered the Austin deposit."
"We’ve built a large bank of technical information through the application of modern exploration techniques at Quinns and now we have the discovery of sulphide mineralisation at Flinders."
The Quinns area has received only limited modern exploration despite the proximity to producing gold mines at Bluebird-Yaloginda and Gabanintha.
Results from the initial drilling at Murchison Wonder include highly anomalous zinc and copper including: 3 metres at 2.9% zinc and 0.16% copper from 131 metres, including 1 metres at 5.5% zinc from 131 metres and 1 metres at 2.7% zinc from 132 metres.
The drilling at the prospects was based on a program of surface fixed loop (FLEM) and down-hole electromagnetic (DHEM) surveys that generated a number of strong EM conductor targets.
A total of 3,309 metres of drilling has now been completed at the prospects in the Murchison province of Western Australia, and additional drilling is now being planned.
Silver Swan is planning to drill a diamond hole extending the reverse circulation collar, designed to intersect the target position and EM conductor at Murchison Wonder.
VMS deposits
Globally, VMS deposits vary in size, are generally high grade and are mostly found in clusters within regions.
The style of the Austin VMS discovery at Quinns and the highly favourable rock chemistry across the greater Quinns region underpins managing director Susan Vearncombe's search for additional VMS deposits within its highly prospective landholding in the region.
VMS deposits can take some time and patience to unearth, however Silver Swan's discovery of the Austin deposit and today's results provide a glimpse of what could be to come.
Assays are still pending from six diamond and one reverse circulation (RC) holes drilled at the Flinders prospect.
There have been numerous VMS discoveries in the Yilgarn region including Golden Grove Minerals & Metals Group's 19 million tonnes at 2.8% copper, 0.2% zinc project. VMS prizes can be significant. In 2008, the mine's revenue was A$266.2 million and had a segment operating result of A$72.1 million.
The region also boasts Independence Group's Teutonic Bore project of 1.55 million tonnes at 1.6% copper, 3.1% zinc as well as the Jaguar 2.55 million tonnes at 2.4% copper, 5.6% zinc project.
Cash balance
Silver Swan had a strong cash balance of $5.26 million following a capital raising to accelerate exploration of high priority targets at both the Stakewell gold project and the Quinns VMS project.
