BENMARA PROJECT PROOF OF CONCEPT DRILLING SUCCESSFUL
HIGHLIGHTS
- RML has completed a “proof of concept” 15-hole RC drilling program at the Benmara Project (NT), successfully intersecting the target geological units that are equivalent to those that host the McArthur River, Lady Loretta, Walford Creek and Century Deposits
- Assay results also confirms anomalous Fe-Mn carbonate alteration and elevated thallium, both occur as a characteristic halo at the McArthur River, Lady Loretta and Century deposits.
- Trace elements indicate likely proximity to mineralisation at RML’s Benmara Project
- Resolution is excited to be early movers in the region and have received positive interest from several majors and mid-tiers regarding the project
- Highlighting the potential of the region is the calibre of the neighbours - which includes BHP, Rio Tinto, FMG, South32, OZ Minerals and Teck
- Resolution Minerals is very pleased with this “proof of concept” success and intends to conduct further geophysics and drilling programs in 2022
We are very pleased to have demonstrated “proof of concept”, through the intersection of thick carbonaceous, pyritic and dolomitic siltstones and shales akin to the Barney Creek formation which hosts the well-known world class HYC / McArthur River lead zinc Mine owned by Glencore. The program has improved our understanding of the geology and takes us one step further on the journey to a potential major discovery in an underexplored prospective region.
The Benmara Project is an exciting large scale potential green-fields sediment hosted battery metals project in one of the last few sedimentary basins in Australia to be explored. We have successfully intersected thick target rock units derived from recent geochronology research as part of the Geoscience Australia’s $225m Exploring-For-The-Future initiative. This initiative for the first time, identified the potential of and stratigraphically links the Benmara Group with the Lawn Hill Platform and Southern McArthur Basin, both of which are known to host large battery metal deposits, such as McArthur River, Lady Loretta, Walford Creek and Century Deposits.
The next step will be to follow up these units along strike and vector towards mineralisation, utilising alteration and trace element haloes defined by our maiden drilling program assay results and further geophysics surveys. 2022 will be a very busy and exciting time for RML.
- Managing Director Duncan Chessell
DETAILS
Resolution Minerals is pleased to announce that it has intersected thick, prospective, pyritic, carbonaceous and dolomitic siltstones and shales associated with flat lying VTEM anomalies, at shallow depths during the maiden RC Drilling program on the Benmara Project. Assay results returned elevated lead, zinc and silver (Pb-Zn-Ag) of up to 198.5 ppm Pb in HoleID: 21BM006; 357 ppm Zn in HoleID: 21BM007; 307ppm Cu in HoleID: 21BM013; and 0.65ppm Ag in HoleID: 21BM009. These values are in the order of 5 x background for an average shale (AusIMM Field Geologists Manual, 2011).
Drilling followed up conductive rock units identified by the Company’s airborne VTEM geophysics survey in 2021. These conductive units can be excellent trap sites (reductive units) for base and battery metal mineralisation, encountered over more than a 3km strike length and 1km width and remain open in all directions. As seen at Walford Creek, the target stratigraphy includes fine-grained sandstones, siltstones and shales, including carbonate alteration and pyrite rich zones (Northwest Mineral Province Deposit Atlas, 2019). The target unit overlies a thick dolomite unit which is possibly equivalent to the Walford Dolomite (or the Tina Dolomite) and contains bright green, strongly altered tuff layers, which may be equivalent to tuffaceous marker horizons present at Walford Creek. We are targeting sub basins with the aid of tuff “marker” horizons to determine where we are in the stratigraphy. At Walford Creek a positive correlation has been noted between the degree of alteration of the tuff marker horizons and the grades of mineralisation present in the underlying unit (Northwest Mineral Province Deposit Atlas, 2019).
This is a fantastic outcome given the conductive sedimentary units lie beneath a blanket of black clay and aeolian cover negating the use of surface geochemical techniques, and it’s only through modern geophysics that targets like this are identified.
RML submitted 3m composite multi-element samples for the entire program to allow for geochemical vectoring. Analysis of the geochemistry has revealed some excellent vectors known to be associated with halos present at Lady Loretta, HYC and Century base and battery metal deposits (Leach et al, 2005).
- The presence of Fe-Mn alteration associated with the prospective units
- The presence of anomalous trace element thallium (Tl) increasing from the WNW to ESE
Immediate follow up drill targets have been defined based on geochemical vectors combined with the position of prospective structures and interpreted units along strike and VTEM results.
RML is very positive about this project that in addition to planning further drilling, RML has signed a contract to undertake further VTEM in 2022 on their newly acquired ground. Final plans for these programs will be announced in the new year.
A full desktop review is planned over the wet season (summer months), including analysis of thin sections and geochronology to further enhance the Company’s understanding of the host rocks and alteration ahead of next field season. Drilling approvals will be submitted well ahead of dry season.
Resolution is excited to be one of the first movers in South Nicholson Basin and has received significant positive interest from multiple parties regarding the project.
WATCH MD DUNCAN CHESSELL DISCUSS THE DRILLING PROGRAM WHILE IN THE FIELD AT THE BENMARA PROJECT
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