Castillo Copper Ltd (LSE:CCZ, ASX:CCZ) is drawing up plans for an infill drilling campaign designed to produce an inaugural JORC-compliant resource for the Big One Deposit at the NWQ Copper Project in Queensland, following a visit to the site by CCZ’s chief geological consultant.
The company believes that shallow copper mineralisation intersected by recent and historical drilling campaigns, as well as a large, untested bedrock induced polarisation (IP) conductor warrant a third infill program and have prioritised the geological modelling of a JORC resource for Big One.
Peak surface copper intercepts from the deposit include:
- 40 metres at 1.64% copper from surface, including 11 metres at 4.40% from 24 metres, 5 metres at 7.34% from 28 metres and 1-metre at 16.65% from 29 metres;
- 44 metres at 1.19% from surface, including 14 metres at 3.55% from 27 metres, 3 metres at 10.88% from 37 metres and 1-metre at 12.6% from 37 metres;
- 34 metres at 1.51% from surface, including 21 metres at 2.25% from surface, 12 metres at 3.44% from 3 metres, 6 metres at 4.79% from 3 metres and 1-metre at 9.4% from 9 metres;
- 3 metres at 12.25% from 42 metres, including 2 metres at 17.87% from 43 metres and 1-metre at 28.4% from 44 metres;
- 8 metres at 2.33% from 44 metres, including 6 metres at 3.00% from 45 metres and 5 metres at 3.28% from 45 metres;
- 4 metres at 2.20% from 44 metres, including 2 metres at 3.19% from 46 metres and 1-metre at 3.63% from 47 metres;
- 18 metres at 0.86% from 11 metres, including 6 metres at 1.85% from 20 metres, 3 metres at 2.98% from 20 metres and 1-metre at 8% from 20 metres;
- 12 metres at 0.79% from 52 metres, including 8 metres at 1.06% from 57 metres, 3 metres at 2.03% from 58 metres, 1-metre at 4.27% from 59 metres and 1-metre at 1.46% from 62 metres.
Inaugural resource
Castillo Copper managing director Simon Paull said: “Following a visit to the NWQ Copper Project by CCZ’s chief geological consultant, which yielded fresh perspectives, the board’s objectives for 2022 comprise geologically modelling an inaugural JORC-compliant resource for the Big One Deposit, continued drilling at the Arya Prospect and fully assessing the Eldorado target’s exploration potential.
“Notably, the case for the Big One Deposit remains compelling given the drilling campaigns to date have intersected significant copper mineralisation.
“In addition, the board is positive on the exploration potential of the Litchfield & Picasso lithium projects and looks forward to finalising due diligence upon receipt of assays.”
CCZ has also reviewed 29Metal’s Capricorn Copper Mine, which holds multiple ore sources. The board believes adapting this model for the NWQ Copper Project is prudent, as the objective of exploration will be identifying and potentially developing multiple satellite deposits – beginning with Big One Deposit – within the tenure, which the company hopes will deliver an aggregated, bundled, and scalable platform.
Castillo is continuing to drill at Arya Prospect, where it is has intersected copper, cobalt and graphite mineralisation, and further exploration work has been designed to fully access the potential of the Eldorado Prospect to host copper mineralisation.
In addition, the board will review a timeline to secure a mining lease and consult with potential offtake partners in the Mt Isa region to understand the logistics and costs of processing third-party ore.
Next steps
Castillo Copper is a base metals explorer with its primary focus on copper as it embarks on a strategic transformation to morph into a mid-tier copper producer underpinned by its core projects.
Apart from the primary copper pillars at Mt Oxide in Queensland, Cangai Copper Mine in NSW and in Zambia’s Copper-belt, the company also has nickel, zinc and cobalt assets.
In Queensland, the following is set to take place over the coming weeks:
- Assay results for the Arya Prospect.
For the lithium projects:
- Ongoing due diligence for Picasso and Litchfield lithium projects, including return of assay results for surface sampling campaigns.
There are two ongoing steps for the Zambia operations, including:
- Complete the IP survey at the Mkushi Project; and
- Complete work on the inaugural drilling campaign for the Luanshya Project.
