Antipa Minerals Limited (ASX: AZY) has identified some promising follow-up targets at the Paterson Farm‐in Project and Wilki Farm‐in Project exploration programmes in Western Australia.
IGO Limited (IGO) and Newcrest Operations Limited (Newcrest) respectively are fully funding ongoing exploration activities at the project.
“The Paterson Farm‐in Project’s exciting new soil and air core targets are located within the highly prospective El Paso Structural Corridor, which extends from Havieron in the southeast, past Winu in the northwest,” Antipa Managing Director, Roger Mason, said.
“Several of these new targets are adjacent to the northern border of our 100% owned Minyari Dome Project. Our tenure has just enough shallow cover to conceal, but also detect (via geophysics and soil sampling), potential world‐class gold‐copper deposits.
“The project‐scale, systematic exploration approach by the Paterson Farm‐in Project partners is designed to target any potential giants lurking under this shallow cover.
“Last year’s exploration results, whilst early stage, provided great encouragement, defining a number of early stage but high priority exploration targets that have the potential to deliver a major greenfield discovery.
“The 2022 exploration programme is considered pivotal in our quest for another major greenfield discovery.”
Paterson IGO Farm-in Project Exploration Programme Summary
The Paterson Farm‐in 2021 activities formed part of an ongoing regional exploration programme with an emphasis on greenfield discovery of Nifty, Winu, Telfer and Havieron analogue targets. The two major components of the 2021 exploration programme were a regional / project scale air core drill programme and a soil geochemicalsampling programme.
Mr Mason said sesults provide significant encouragement with a number of high priority exploration targets requiring to be tested in 2022.
Air Core Drill Programme Targets
Three highly encouraging gold, gold‐copper and pathfinder anomalies were identified during the 2021 regional / project scale stratigraphic and geochemical air core drill programme, which covered an area of approximately 350km2 (168 holes for 11,346m).
The most advanced of these targets is the newly named Ricochet target, where air core drill hole 21PTA0221 returned 21m at 0.13 g/t gold and 2.6 g/t silver from 55m, including 1m at 0.43 g/t gold and 1.0 g/t silver from 57m, along with anomalous pathfinders (including As, Bi and Te) from meta‐sediment hosted gossanous (ex‐sulphide) quartz veining coincident with the southern end of a 1.5km long magnetic anomaly.
Approximately 500m of the Ricochet magnetic anomaly is on the Paterson Farm‐in Project, with the remaining 1km and stronger bulls‐eye portion of the anomaly, bearing similarities to the Havieron magnetic signature, being located on our adjacent Citadel JV Project.
The other two new targets where air core drilling intersected iron‐oxide (ex‐sulphide) bearing quartz veining are Frontier (anomalous Au, Cu, Ag, As, Pb, Zn and Co) and Ricochet South (anomalous Zn, Ag, Bi, Pb and Mo).
Soil Geochemical Sampling Programme Targets
Four highly encouraging copper‐gold, gold and multielement pathfinder soil anomalies were identified as part of the 2021 regional / project‐scale fine‐fraction soil geochemical sampling programme, which covered an area of approximately 650km2 (2,589 samples) with a 320 x 320m sample spacing. These anomalies have been prioritised for infill-soil-sampling (160 x 160m spacing) and air core drill testing.
AL02 – Shallowly covered to sub‐cropping folded meta‐sediments and mafics with Cu‐Au‐Ni‐As‐ Co‐Zn‐Pb soil anomalies with associated possible intrusion related Bi‐W‐Te‐Sn‐Ga anomalism. The combined AL02 anomaly footprint covers a total area of 10km by 13km along a northwest trending structural corridor located adjacent to the northern boundary of the 100% owned Minyari Dome Project.
AL03 – Shallowly covered to sub‐cropping meta‐sediments with Cu‐Au‐Co‐Zn‐Pb soil anomaly and associated possible intrusion related Bi‐W‐Tl‐Ba‐Ga‐Sn anomalism
AL04 – Shallowly covered to sub‐cropping meta‐sediments with Cu‐Au‐Ni‐Ag‐Co‐As‐Zn‐Pb soil anomaly and associated possible intrusion related Bi‐W‐Mo‐U‐Tl‐Ba‐In‐Ga‐Sn anomalism. Combined AL04 anomaly footprint covers a total area of 9km by 4km
AL05 – Shallowly covered to sub‐cropping meta‐sediments with gold soil anomaly and associated possible intrusion related W‐Bi‐Sr‐Ba‐Sn anomalism, adjacent to the southern boundary of the 100% owned Minyari Dome Project.
CY2022 Exploration Programme
The Paterson Farm‐in Project 2022 Exploration Programme, to be operated by IGO, is currently planned to comprise the following activities:
· A 7,000m air core drill programme to test high‐priority geochemical targets;
· A 1,000m diamond core drill programme to test high‐priority geophysical targets;
· Infill soil geochemical sampling programme;
· Induced Polarisation (IP) geophysical survey to identify drill targets along a section of the El Paso Corridor including at the Grey prospect area, where drilling in 2019 intersected shallow copper‐silver‐lead‐gold sulphide mineralisation grading up to 2.3% copper, 562 g/t silver, 6.3% lead and 0.32 g/t gold; and
· A project‐scale high‐resolution Airborne Gravity Gradiometry (AGG) survey to assist drill targeting and regional 3D geological modelling.
Consistent with previous years, the Paterson Farm‐in Project 2022 Exploration Programme and budget will be subject to ongoing review based on results, field conditions, contractor availability and pricing, and other relevant matters.
For further information please visit: https://antipaminerals.com.au/
