Solstice drilling confirms larger copper-gold system
First diamond drilling has confirmed Solstice Minerals’ Nanadie copper-gold project in Western Australia extends more than 300m below its existing Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE), pointing to a much larger copper-gold system.
“We are delighted to release an outstanding set of wide, high-grade copper-gold intercepts from our first diamond drillhole at Nanadie, providing strong validation of our geological model and predicting extensive mineralisation at depth,” Solstice Minerals chief executive officer and managing director Nick Castleden said.
The first diamond drill tail extended a previously drilled reverse circulation hole, returning multiple wide copper-gold intercepts, including 30.7m at 1.41 per cent copper and 0.34 grams per tonne gold from 461.5m, including 15m at 2.12 per cent copper and 0.47g/t gold. The results confirmed mineralisation more than 300m below the existing resource boundary and extended the known system beyond 600m depth.
“The excellent match between the zones of visible sulphide mineralisation and the assays gives us confidence in the deeper drilling we have completed to date, and the momentum to keep pursuing these zones of high-grade material well below existing drilling,” Castleden said.
The results have increased confidence in the remaining 12 completed diamond holes awaiting assays, with results expected over the coming months.
Phase 2 drilling is continuing across a mineralised system extending more than 1.2km along strike that remains open to the north, south and at depth.
Nanadie hosts an existing MRE of 40.4 million tonnes at 0.4 per cent copper and 0.1 grams per tonne gold. With drilling continuing beyond the resource, Solstice believes the project has the potential to expand through future MRE updates.