Krucible Metals (ASX:KRB) is a diversified minerals explorer that discovered copper, gold and phosphate in the richly mineralised region south of Mt Isa in Queensland Australia.
Its Korella phosphate and rare earth inferred resources are immediately adjacent to the fully integrated fertiliser plant at Phosphate Hill near Mt Isa Queensland.
Krucible Metals sees further potential for high grade copper at Pilgrim in QLD
Krucible Metals (ASX: KRB) have announced that further encouraging Copper/Gold results have been received from the Pilgrim EPM 15072, located about 150km SE of Mount Isa and 25km north of the Phosphate Hill Mine in Queensland.
Previous results from exploration at Pilgrim have been reported in Krucible ASX Announcements on the 10th December 2009 and 25th January 2010. Pilgrim is a joint venture with Deep Yellow Ltd.
Tony Alston, Managing director, said recent rock chip sampling at Pilgrim has returned values of up to 36.25% Copper and 2.2 g/t Gold from outcrop and subcrop. This sampling extends the Copper zone that returned up to 30.7% Copper and 11.3 g/t Gold from previous float and subcrop sampling.
Rock chip and soil sampling has now defined a NNW trending Copper zone that is over 900 metres long and is open to the north and south. This anomaly is over Proterozoic rocks of the Corella Formation which hosts a number of economic deposits such as Tick Hill (Gold) and Trekelano (Copper/Gold).
There is also a strong Copper soil anomaly over Iron rich breccias to the north – these are close to the Cambrian/Proterozoic fault contact and may represent Copper mineralisation at depth.
The Copper Gold mineralisation is associated with the contacts of regional magnetic anomalies and is located within the highly prospective N-S Pilgrim Fault Corridor. Elevated Silver, Molybdenum and Tellurium assays, support a polymetallic IOCG (IronOxide Copper Gold) model for Pilgrim.
No previous exploration work appears to have been carried out on the Copper mineralisation discovered by Krucible, nor are there any historic workings.
The company said further work including surface sampling, mapping and ground geophysics is planned for this prospect in the next 4-6 weeks. This will be followed by drill testing.
This tenement is subject to a Joint Venture with Deep Yellow Ltd (DYL) whereby Krucible can earn 80% equity by expenditure of $400,000 over 4 years. Krucible has the right to 100% ownership by issue of one million KRB shares.
The Pilgrim Prospect area is also located about 5km SE of the historic high grade Gold Tick Hill Mine and 70km NW of the operating Copper/Gold Mine at Osborne (Barrick Australia Ltd).
This very prospective zone is mainly underlain by altered calc-silicate breccias and granitoids of the Proterozoic Corella Formation which hosts the Tick Hill gold deposit as well as the Trekelano Mine (Copper, Gold – 21km to NNW) and the Kalman deposit (Copper, Molybdenum – 67km to the North).
During the course of a semi-regional lag sampling program at Pilgrim in November 2009 visible Copper was observed by Krucible geologists in float samples.
These assayed up to;
30.7% Copper, 10.25 g/t Gold, 29.9 g/t Silver, 15.1 g/t Tellurium.
In December 2009 follow up rock chip sampling of boulder float and sub-outcrop of Proterozoic
basement returned up to;
23.3% Copper, 11.3 g/t Gold, 31.4 g/t Silver and 17.6 g/t Tellurium.
Further rock chip sampling in February 2010 of mainly outcrop and sub outcrop returned assays
up to;
36.2% Copper, 2.20 g/t Gold, 25.1 g/t Silver & 14.5 g/t Tellurium.
The field program carried out in February 2010 (between storms) comprised soil and rock chip
sampling and geological mapping.
This recent work has been successful in delineating a NNW zone of intermittent high grade IOCG mineralisation over a strike length of about 900 metres – this is open to the north and south and has never been drill tested.
The Copper/Gold mineralisation is associated with magnetite/hematite and “red rock” alteration within the Corella Formation and is also associated with magnetic contact zones outlined from broad regional aeromagnetic images.
Detailed ground magnetic and conductivity surveys are planned to better delineate the mineralisation both at surface and at depth.
Krucible said it should be pointed out that the breccia/vein mineralisation exposed to date is only of local extent (generally in mainly soil covered ground) but the high grades encountered over +900 metres as well as the geological setting auger well for the possible discovery of significant high grade sulphide related mineralisation.
There is also a strong Copper soil anomaly to the north at Humphries Hill that is associated with Iron rich breccias and a strong magnetic anomaly. The soil anomaly is over younger Cambrian sediments close to the faulted contact with Proterozoic basement.
It is interpreted that these breccias could be hosting re-circulating Copper rich fluids emanating from a mineralised body at depth, associated with a magnetic intrusive body.
Field work to date at Pilgrim has been hampered by the current wet season. However, more work (comprising soil sampling, geological mapping and geophysical surveys) is planned for March/April 2010. The company hopes to commence drill testing in May/June 2010 after Native Title clearances have been obtained.
The company said historical open source information indicates excellent potential for high grade Phosphate rock within the Pilgrim EPM 15072 about 3kms from the Copper Gold discovery. This will be assessed as part of Krucible’s intended Phosphate mine feasibility study.
Krucible Metals shares rose 5% to 40 cents in trading today.
