QMines (ASX:QML) reports that it has completed a reverse circulation (RC) drilling program in preparation for a new Resource at the Woods Shaft deposit, as part of its flagship Mt Chalmers Copper and Gold project in Queensland.
The 905m drilling program was conducted to validate historical drilling and aid in converting all or part of the historical exploration target into a maiden JORC 2012 compliant Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) for the Woods Shaft deposit.
This recent RC drilling has brought the total amount of drilling undertaken by the company to over 14,000m and will also aid in the definition of a MRE upgrade for the greater Mt Chalmers project.
The upgrade for Mt Chalmers is expected to be delivered by November this year, while the maiden MRE for Woods Shaft is expected for Q1 next year.
Completion of the recent RC drilling has also warranted the commencement of pit optimisation studies on completion of the 2 resources.
Speaking on drilling update, QMines Executive Chairman, Andrew Sparke said: “We have made excellent progress across several areas at Mt Chalmers including the completion of the Woods Shaft validation drilling which will now enable the delivery of a maiden resource at Woods Shaft.
“We have made excellent progress across several areas at Mt Chalmers including the completion of the Woods Shaft validation drilling which will now enable the delivery of a maiden resource at Woods Shaft.”
There were some fairly significant historical drillholes from this area and the completion of this drilling will enable the delivery of a fourth resource upgrade early in the new year.”
QMines also notes that it aims to conduct an airborne electromagnetic (EM) survey over the project tenement to improve drill targeting for future regional drilling campaigns. In addition, the completion of drilling at the Woods Shaft deposit comes following the return of outstanding drilling results as announced by the company in September this year.
Peak grades from previous drilling included 6.8% copper (Cu) and 11.45g/t gold (Au) from drillhole MCRC041, as well as 10.0% Cu and 3.6g/t Au from drillhole MCRC044.
QMines is a Queensland based copper and gold exploration company with 100% ownership over its four advanced projects, which cover a total combined land holding of 1,096km-square. The company’s Mt Chalmers project is located about 17km northeast of the township of Rockhampton and represents its flagship exploration tenement, currently boasting a measured, indicated and inferred JORC 2012 MRE of 5.8Mt at 1.7% Cu-Eq for 101,000 tonnes Cu-Eq.
With drilling at the Woods Shaft deposit now complete, QMines announces that samples from the eleven drillholes have been delivered to ALS in Brisbane, with results expected shortly.
A scoping study is expected to follow and is scheduled to commence in early 2023.
Images: QMines Ltd
