A program to develop a wider potential mining footprint around its Kanmantoo copper-gold mine is well advanced according to Adelaide Hills miner, Hillgrove Resources Ltd.

Addressing the Paydirt 2018 South Australian Resources and Energy Investment Conference in Adelaide last week, Hillgrove Resources’ Principal Geologist, Peter Rolley, said the producing Kanmantoo mine is located within a significant copper-gold province and offers substantial growth activity.

“Our first underground mining operation is permitted and design work is in progress to facilitate the transition from open-cut to underground,” Rolley said. “But we are also assessing near mine projects for underground mining extensions or those which offer large magmatic copper-gold sources.”

“In addition, we will commence maiden drilling in September on the 2-km long Kanappa copper-gold zone near Sedan and then most likely the 1.7-km long Mt Rhine system, 10 km north of Kanappa but presents as a next drill target. These are two great targets and have exhibited in sampling, robust grades.”

The current Kanmantoo mine produces copper, gold and silver from a number of structurally controlled shears, lodes and breccias with gold grades as high as 32 g/t over 5 m at the Spitfire target.

“We are utilising existing data and knowledge to identify new copper-gold targets to help build operations,” Rolley said. “Previous drilling has already identified a number of underground targets for infill drilling but the overall 5-km long Kanmantoo mine corridor has not seen any systematic exploration since 2008.

“The focus back in 2008 was on permitting for the subsequent Kanmantoo open-pit operations. There are significant drill intercepts there that to date, have not been followed up so we are starting to prioritise targets along this structural corridor.”