EXPLORATION & DEVELOPMENT

Eagle Mountain lands maiden copper resource

LITTLE more than a year after securing an 80% interest in the Oracle Ridge project, Arizona, Eagle Mountain Mining has been able to recover a maiden JORC resource for the copper-dominated skarn deposit, confirming earlier estimates.

Drilling began at Oracle Ridge in September

Drilling began at Oracle Ridge in September

Oracle Ridge hosts 12.3 million tonnes grading 1.51% copper, 16.3 grams per tonne silver and 0.19gpt gold for 184,000t of contained copper, 6.4 million ounces silver and 73,000oz gold using a 1% copper cut-off.
 
Reducing the cut-off to 0.8% increases contained copper to 242,000t, while focusing on the high-grade portion with a 1.4% cut-off narrows the resource to 5.6Mt at 1.9% for 108,000t.
 
CEO Tim Mason said the numbers were "broadly in line" with the previous estimate that was calculated using Canada's NI 43-101 rules that outlined 11.76Mt at 1.57% copper, 17.47gpt silver and 0.18gpt gold for 409 million pounds copper, 6.8Moz silver and 68,000oz gold, using a 1% copper cut-off.
 
The JORC resource was generated by SRK Consulting, which dug into the significant paper dataset that was secured with the purchase of the project, examining 531 holes for 71,549m completed as far back as the 1970s.
 
The geological models have also been updated. 
 
The maiden resource excludes intercepts completed since the maiden drilling program began in September, such as 4.56m at 5.28% copper, 50.7gpt silver and 0.77gpt gold, which may help increase the overall grade.
 
It also ignores historical high-grade intersections in areas of scarce drilling, such as 10.06m at 3.47% copper and 35.23gpt silver, which offer further extensional options, but require additional holes as they were too isolated to be concluded.
 
Drilling continues, with Mason saying the potential for growth is substantial. 
 
Recent holes have intersected copper in areas previously considered barren, while other holes have defined a steeply-dipping mineralised structure very different from the strata-bound or contact mineralisation commonly seen at Oracle Ridge.
 
One zone returned 1.24m at 2.25gpt gold, which is one of the highest gold grades seen at Oracle Ridge.
 
Eagle Mountain secured the project, located around a historical underground mine with some 18km of existing workings, in November 2019. 
 
It was last mined in the 1990s.
 
Eagle Mountain has an exploration target of 14-29Mt at 1.1-1.9% copper, 7.1/19.3gpt silver, and 0.03-0.26gpt gold.
 
Shares in Eagle Mountain were last traded at A34.5c, off 9%, valuing the company at $51 million. The stock has almost doubled over the past year.  

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