Impact’s high grade NSW gold-silver discovery near Orange gets bigger – and adds copper

A significant expansion of the exploration potential over at least several hundred metres along trend and also at depth is being revealed in the on-going drill program at Impact Minerals Ltd’s high-grade gold-silver discovery at the Silica Hill prospect, part of the 100% owned Commonwealth project, 100 km north of Orange in New South Wales.

  • Mineralised vein system extended to 250 m along trend and still open
  • Potential further extension of 300 m along trend indicated by extensive zones of narrow veins with gold-silver-pathfinder metals characteristic of the upper, less mineralised parts of the system. Priority drill target at depth below these veins
  • Wide copper intersect indicates increasing copper and possible porphyry copper-gold system at depth. Downhole EM survey to define more specific drill targets
  • Mineralised system now extends over 500 m of trend and 400 m vertical extent.

Diamond drill hole CMIPT50 was drilled to test an Induced Polarisation conductor at depth below the massive sulphide lens at Main Shaft and intersected a broad zone of visible disseminated copper sulphide mineralisation. Assays have now returned:

  • 49 m at 0.1% Cu from 269 m down hole including: 0.8 m at 2.5% Cu, 4% Zn, 0.5% Pb, 38 g/t Ag and 0.2 g/t Au (8 g/t gold equivalent)

This is materially better than the previous best intercept in Hole 6 located 30 m above Hole 50 which returned:

  • 30 m at 0.13% Cu including: 1 m at 0.7% Cu, 1.1% Zn, 0.4% Pb, 31 g/t Ag and 0.4 g/t Au (2 g/t gold equivalent).

These results have identified a copper-dominant zone that is increasing in size and grade at depth. This strongly supports Impact’s long held premise that the entire Commonwealth-Silica Hill system is underlain and driven by a porphyry copper-gold system.

The Commonwealth project forms part of Impact’s extensive 100% owned land holding of 1,000 km2 in the Lachlan Foldbelt, home to numerous gold and copper mines including the giant Cadia deposit near Orange (40 Moz of gold and 12 Mt of copper).

At Silica Hill significant gold and silver mineralisation has been previously intersected in seven drill holes and covers an area of 200 m by 100 m down to a depth of 120 m below surface and with an average true thickness of at least between 40 m and 70 m. The mineralisation is open in all directions including up dip.

Four drill holes out of the seven have also returned gram-times-metre intercepts of more than 100 gram.metres and a fifth hole returned an intercept of greater than 50 gram.metres. These are robust and significant results for potential bulk mining and indicate the potential to significantly increase the resources at the Commonwealth Project, which currently stand at 720,000 t at 2.8 g/t Au, 48 g/t Ag, 1.5% Zn and 0.6% Pb.