Arc Exploration (ASX:ARX) has been granted a new exploration licence in the Oberon district of New South Wales’ Central Tablelands that is prospective for porphyry copper-gold targets.
The new licence adjoins existing joint venture tenement and has been included in the assets under the Oberon Project joint venture with New South Resources Limited (NSR).
EL 8349 Holmwood, comprises 10 units (approximately 29 square-kilometres) and adjoins the western boundary of EL 6525 Oberon and southern boundary of EL 5110 Johnstone Ridge.
It is mainly underlain by mafic volcanic rocks of the Rockley Volcanics, part of the eastern Rockley-Gulgong Volcanic Belt within the Ordovician-Early Silurian Macquarie Arc.
The Macquarie Arc is endowed with world class porphyry copper-gold deposits at Cadia and Northparkes.
The new licence area is believed to be relatively underexplored by previous companies and may have potential for porphyry copper-gold mineralisation.
“The granting of this new exploration licence strengthens our ground position in the Oberon District which contains Macquarie Arc volcanic rocks that may be prospective for porphyry copper-gold targets,” managing director Dr. Jeff Malaihollo said.
“This new licence becomes part of the package of tenements under the Oberon Project joint venture that we have with NSR.
“The Oberon Project is located only about 100 kilometres east of the Cadia Valley copper-gold mine operation in a region with excellent access and development infrastructure.
“Our initial work program on the new licence will include a more detailed literature search on previous exploration and a ground assessment to confirm the potential of the area for porphyry copper-gold targets.”
Oberon Project
With the addition of EL 8349, the total area of the exploration tenement package under the Oberon JV has increased to about 200 square kilometres.
Arc is earning a 80% interest in the project.
Oberon covers a multiply deformed Ordovician to Siluro-Devonian package of volcanosedimentary rocks and Carboniferous granite intrusions that are prospective for a range of mineral deposit styles.
These include porphyry copper-gold, gold-base metal-iron skarns, VMS-related gold-silver-base metals and orogenic gold veins.
EL 6525 contains the 150,000-ounce Murphys gold deposit on which historic drilling has produced some broad low-grade gold intercepts including 49 metre at 0.75 grams per tonne gold, 23 metres at 1.05g/t gold and 34 metres at 0.62g/t gold.
Murphys is hosted by Silurian felsic volcanic rocks and the gold is associated with base metal sulphide mineralisation disseminated in quartz stockwork and through the intensely phyllic-altered host rocks.
The project area is crossed by the west-northwest trending Lachlan Transverse Zone, an inferred arc-normal structural corridor that is interpreted to have influenced the emplacement of mineralising monzonite intrusions (Cadia) and felsic volcanic centres (McPhillamys) in the Bathurst region.
The same structure may have similarly influenced the distribution of gold-base metal prospects in the project area, including Murphys.
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