Caerus Mineral Resources plc’s trenching and sampling of residual metals have revealed “very high grade visible copper mineralisation” at the Troulli project in Cyprus.
ANALYSES
More than 100 separate XRF* analyses within the Troulli run-of-mine (ROM) stockpile show peak grades from 17.6% Cu to 4.5% Cu, with the average grade achieved to date of 6 % Cu.
The company added that no attempt had been made to estimate the copper content of the overlying ROM ore.
The extent of run-of-mine (ROM) ore also exceeded previous expectations and will be reflected in the final mineral resource tonnage estimate.
Samples are ready for dispatch for assay with duplicate samples batched and sent to prospective joint venture partner Jubilee Metals Group for test work.
Further trenching in the next seven to 10 days over the ROM stockpile aims to achieve sufficient coverage for a mineral resource estimate.
Caerus said that other trenches were being excavated and evaluated across the project area in parallel with the ROM stockpile programme.
PROCESSING PLANT
Chief executive Martyn Churchouse added that each dump potentially represented an ore body.
“The notable difference between a dump and a lens of volcanogenic massive sulphide mineralisation is the fact that we do not need to drill and blast the resource, nor is it necessary to strip overlying waste material or commit to the capital required to access the mineralisation via underground development.
“We simply need to confirm the tonnage and grade and, subject to test work, build a processing plant capable of treating the variety of ore types we are encountering.”
He added that the company was using XRF equipment because of the current lengthy lead times between sample dispatch and the delivery of results from the laboratory.
TROULLI
The Troulli project is focused on residual metals in surface materials is the subject of a prospective joint venture involving Jubilee Metals Group and Bezant Resources.
* X-ray fluorescence (XRF) is a fast and effective but only semi-quantitative method for identifying the composition of geochemical samples. A common method is to use hand-held XRF devices to prioritise exploration targets.