Sirius Resources updates exploration findings at Youanmi project, WA

Sirius Resources (ASX: SIR) has advised that its first soil geochemical sampling program at Youanmi has defined a distinct copper-zinc-leadbarium anomaly along strike from Metals Australia’s Manindie zinc deposit in Western Australia, and a copper-nickel-cobalt anomaly at the nearby contact zone of the Youanmi layered intrusion.

Reconnaissance rotary air blast (RAB) drilling has also commenced testing several gold and base metal targets.

Geochemical sampling over the first of several volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) base metal targets has defined a distinct copper-zinclead-barium soil anomaly. This is situated along strike from the Manindie zinc resource - a known VMS deposit owned by Metals Australia.

The anomaly comprises a 400m long zone of elevated zinc and a semi-coincident 600m long zone of elevated lead situated on the projected strike extension of the prospective stratigraphic
horizon.

A copper anomaly partially coincides with this trend but also occurs over a broad zone largely to the east of it, and a distinct barium anomaly also occurs as a narrow but laterally extensive (1.5km long) zone immediately to the west of the zinc-lead trend.

The distribution of copper, zinc, lead and barium anomalism is consistent with the interpreted geology of the area – namely a mafic footwall to the east, a felsic volcanic hangingwall to the west, and the potentially mineralised VMS horizon at the interface between the two.

The company said this is also consistent with the expected location of metals in a VMS system, where copper is often focused in stringer zones in the mafic footwall rocks, zinc occurs in massive sulphide lenses on or close to the mafic-felsic interface, and barium is enriched in laterally extensive haloes and blankets above and along strike from massive sulphide zone.

The same geochemical sampling program also covered the nearby contact zone of the Youanmi layered intrusion, which is prospective for the magmatic copper-nickel-platinum group metal (PGM) style of mineralisation. Sampling has defined a coincident Cu-Ni-Co anomaly in a position consistent with the interpreted contact zone, over a strike length of approximately 500m.

A reconnaissance rotary air blast (RAB) drilling program has also commenced testing several additional areas.

These include several shear zone-hosted gold targets in areas where transported alluvium may have masked the surface geochemical signature, selected drill traverses across the margins of the Youanmi layered intrusion to confirm the location and nature of the contact, and reconnaissance drilling to confirm the presence of VMS-prospective stratigraphy.

An electromagnetic (EM) geophysical survey, aimed at defining zones of sub-surface conductivity that may be related to massive sulphides, has been scheduled for this area within the next two months.

The first geochemical survey only covers a fraction of the overall project area (Figure 1) and geochemical sampling of a further three VMS target areas and several magmatic sulphide and PGM targets will continue throughout the next two quarters as and when other drilling programs permit.

The Youanmi project comprises four large exploration licences which cover the majority of the Youanmi layered intrusion and the surrounding felsic volcanic stratigraphy.

The district is prospective for a variety of commodities including nickel, copper, zinc, gold and PGM’s within a variety of deposit styles as evidenced by the presence of the 1moz Youanmi gold mine, the Just Desserts Cu-Au VMS resource, the Manindie Zn VMS resource and the Currans Find PGM mineralisation.

The project is a joint venture in which Sirius has a 70% interest, with Mark Creasy retaining a 30% free carried interest to the completion of a bankable feasibilitystudy, and retaining full rights to vanadium, titanium and iron (V-Ti-Fe).