Highlands Pacific Limited (ASX: HIG) is a PNG incorporated mineral resource company with a focus on gold and base metal prospects.
The Ramu Nickel and Cobalt Project, located 75 km south west of the provincial capital of Madang in PNG, contains an estimated resource of 143 million tonnes at 1.01% nickel and 0.1% cobalt. The project is currently in development with commissioning of the mine site to be completed in early 2009 anc commissioning of the process plant to be completed in late 2009.
The Frieda River project which comprises the Nena, Horse/Ivaal/Trukai and Koki deposits, has an overall resource estimated at 16.7 billion pounds (7.5 million tonnes) of copper and 14.3 million ounces of gold and collectively forms one of the world's largest undeveloped copper and gold deposits.
Highlands Pacific hits huge copper intersection at Frieda deposit at depth
Highlands Pacific (ASX:HIG ) has established that its Frieda River copper gold project in Papua New Guinea extends deeper than previously thought and is one of the world’s top 10 emerging copper gold projects after spectacular returns from a 978 metre deep hole at its Horse-Ivaal-Trukai deposit.
Investors liked the news, bidding the stock up 14.5%, to 31.5 cents on trading volume of 1.41m shares.
The exploration results highlight the potential for a large increase in the resource at the Frieda copper gold project, said managing director of Highlands Pacific John Gooding.
“In all my years in exploration and mining, I have never heard of such a long copper intersection in one hole. We already knew the Frieda mineralisation extended from surface to about 600 metres, but to have mineralisation at 978 metres is simply outstanding,” he said.
Exploration drilling by Highlands joint venture partner Xstrata Copper was designed to test the depth extension of the known Frieda mineralisation as part of geotechnical and pit design work for the pre‐feasibility study due in mid‐2010.
An updated Mineral Resource statement for Frieda is expected by the end of 2009.
The new deep hole result (hole 280XC09) has recently been assayed and returned three copper and gold intersections at a 0.2%Cu cut off of 412 metres at 0.6% copper, 0.2g/t gold; 10 metres of 0.2%Cu and 0.1g/t gold and 522 metres of 0.4%Cu and 0.5g/t gold, for a total hole depth of 978 metres and finishing in mineralisation.
At a 0.1% Cu cutoff the continuous intersection totals 968 metres @0.5% Cu and 0.4g/t gold starting from 10m down hole.
The scoping study plans released earlier this year envisaged an open pit to a depth of about 400‐600 metres, the base of the current resource model.
The deep hole drilling formed part of the Frieda River project US$36 million budgeted work program for 2009. Drilling at Frieda is currently focussed on geotechnical work including in‐pit studies, process plant site locations, quarries and potential dam sites.
