Artemis Resources (ASX: ARV) has provided its quarterly activities report for the period ended 31 December 2020.
HIGHLIGHTS:
Carlow Castle Au-Cu-Co Project
Assays received in the Quarter from the recently completed 42-hole, multi-rig drilling campaign at the Carlow Castle Gold Copper Project.
Step out RC holes to extend Resource Area 50m to the south.
-
44m @ 2.00g/t Au, 0.71% Cu, 0.15% Co from 132m in ARC253.
-
5m @ 2.40g/t Au, 0.63% Cu, 0.09% Co from 82m in ARC252.
New Northern Discovery Zone – Shallow reconnaissance RC holes ~250m north of the Resource Area.
-
11m @ 4.24g/t Au, 1.58% Cu from 71m in ARC233.
-
6m @ 1.33g/t Au, 0.93% Cu, 0.08 % Co from 102m (to EOH) in ARC234.
New deep “Feeder Zone” discovery – deep diamond hole 20CCAD003:
-
4m @ 11.1g/t Au, 2.0% Cu, 0.18% Co from 639m.
First Resource Area infill diamond holes 20CCAD002 & -004:
-
53m @ 2.98g/t Au, 0.85% Cu, 0.25% Co from 120m in 20CCAD004, including;
-
14m @ 4.92g/t Au, 0.14% Cu from 120m;
-
8m @ 7.34g/t Au, 1.03% Cu from 144m; including
-
2m @ 17.93g/t Au, 2.36% Cu from 147m, and
-
19m @ 1.59g/t Au, 1.06% Cu, 0.15% Co from 155m.
-
-
75m @ 1.15g/t Au, 0.36% Cu, 0.05% Co from 56m in 20CCAD002, including;
-
5m @ 1.86g/t Au, 0.43% Cu, 0.1% Co from 69m, and.
-
7m @ 1.49g/t Au, 0.70% Cu, 0.22% Co form 84m.
Shallow Reconnaissance RC holes ~100m east of Resource Area;
-
1m @ 1.57g/t Au, 0.01% Cu from 75m in ARC244.
-
1m @ 7.43g/t Au, 0.04% Cu from 113m in ARC244.
Paterson Central gold-copper project
-
First Artemis drilling campaign completed at Paterson Central Project located next to the Newcrest Mining / Greatland Gold Havieron gold deposit in the Paterson Province, WA.
-
Three deep diamond holes were drilled only 2.5km to the east of Havieron in the Nimitz Prospect area for a total of 3,012m, with 1,151m drilled into Proterozoic bedrock of the Lamil Group, which is the host rock to the Havieron and Telfer gold deposits.
-
Despite being only the 5 th ranked target, Nimitz was selected because of ease of access via the existing Havieron track that transects the Havieron Project area.
-
A total of 71 grab sample intervals of core from 1,151m of basement drilled were recovered as each hole was underway and transported in field crew shift change flight luggage for immediate assaying and petrological analysis based on visual estimates of representative lithologies, intense alteration and brecciation. Results are expected to be available soon.
-
Core intervals above and below (+/- 40m) meaningful Au-Cu anomalism identified in any grab samples will then be cut and sampled at 1m intervals and sent for assay analysis.
-
Overall drilling has provided core samples which provide visual indications that highly altered and brecciated rocks in the Nimitz prospect area have potential to host gold and copper mineralisation and provide vectors to a more intensely mineralised system.
-
Two drillholes (GDRCD001 and GDRCD003) testing Lamil Group rocks in the west (Nimitz South) returned multiple zones of particularly intense hydrothermal alteration, with breccias flooded by carbonate-sericite and quartz-carbonate-chlorite veining, all associated with hematite and trace to minor pyrite and chalcopyrite minerals.
-
As all three holes drilled encountered intervals of intense hydrothermal alteration of upper Lamil Group rocks in close proximity to the Havieron deposit, the Company believes that the Paterson Central licence is very fertile and prospective for large intrusive related gold and copper deposits surrounding Havieron.
-
Given these highly encouraging preliminary drilling observations, the Company is now planning an expanded 2021 multi-rig drill programme to cover the top priority Apollo and Atlas targets, follow-up drilling at the Nimitz group of targets, and to test the Enterprise targets to the South.
Corporate
-
End Quarter with cash balance of and liquid investments of $8.24m ($7.9m cash, $0.34m liquid investments).
-
New Director appointment – Mr Boyd Timler.
-
Non-core sales of several small, non-gold tenements and exploration data yielded approximately $1.5 million during the quarter.
Alastair Clayton, Executive Director commented: “The December Quarter has been an exceptionally busy one for our teams with Carlow Castle RC and Diamond drilling though the Australian summer months yielding a stream of outstanding assay results and our first ever Paterson Central Drill programme targeting the Nimitz Prospect, suggesting we are likely proximal to a significant intrusive-related hydrothermal system that has potential to host significant gold and copper mineralisation on our tenure.
“On the corporate front, we ended the Quarter with a healthy cash balance, and we were pleased to welcome Mr Boyd Timler to the Board who brings highly complementary Corporate, Mine Development and Operations skills and experience. Our non-core divestment programme of several small non-gold tenements and exploration data during the Quarter realised an impressive ~A$1.5m for the Company’s treasury.
“Step out drilling to grow the Carlow Castle resource has hit excellent grades over some very large widths, and infill diamond core and structural drilling support future resource upgrades highlighting the impressive characteristics of the gold, copper and cobalt mineralisation at Carlow Castle. Drilling has discovered a totally new zone of shallow, high grade gold and copper mineralisation located approximately 250m to the north of the Carlow Castle Resource Area.
“This new Northern Discovery Zone is one of the key growth target areas being followed up as part of a 10,000m RC drill programme that started in early January. We are expecting more assays from the 2020 Carlow drill programme to be available very soon, including much of the deeper diamond drilling that targeted further examples of the high-grade gold “Feeder Zone” mineralisation discovered over 250m below the existing resource shells. In addition, initial batches of the 2021 10,000m RC Programme samples have already arrived at the lab for analysis.
“Our first three drill holes were completed at the Paterson Central Project and are a watershed in our understanding of the potential for significant mineralised systems across our 605 sq km tenement footprint. Despite being only mid-ranked, the Nimitz group of targets were selected to be drilled given relatively easy access from an existing Havieron main track. In reality, our highest priority ranked targets are Apollo, Atlas and Enterprise East and West. It goes without saying these will be drilled as soon as possible in 2021 with planning underway to get on the ground once all approvals are in place and the extreme summer season heat and rain abate. To intersect intervals of intensely hydrothermally altered breccias that are in places hematite overprinted and with trace to minor pyrite and chalcopyrite enrichment from our first holes ever, whilst not an obvious massive sulphide Au–Cu discovery yet, is still hugely encouraging.
“These are precisely the geology and textures we are targeting and will use recent drilling information and results to vector our future drilling at Paterson. We are looking forward to receiving the first grab sample assay and petrography results soon to see if any meaningful Au-Cu anomalism is present and can then cut full core interval assays accordingly. By retaining 100% ownership of our Paterson licence we provide our shareholders with uniquely unencumbered exposure to continued exploration success in the Havieron area of the Paterson Province.
“The Artemis team begin 2021 with high level of optimism. Both our core Au–Cu Projects are entering their most ambitious ever drilling programmes and shareholders have substantial leverage to success at both of these high potential projects.”