UXA Resources and partner Straits Resources has announce diamond drilling at the Stuart Shelf project near BHP Billiton’s Olympic Dam mine and OZ Minerals Prominent Hill mine.
Operator Straits has begun drilling 3 hole, 3,600 meters program targeting a number of geophysical anomalies. At the Winjabbie prospect, Straits will follow up on previous drilling by UXA which intersected 42 meters at 0.35% copper.
Stuart Shelf comprises nine tenements covering 3,300 square kilometres located in the same iron oxide, copper and gold prospective area as Olympic Dam which produces copper, gold, silver and Uranium and the Prominent Hill copper gold mine.
An expansion is underway at Olympic Dam to increase copper production to more than 750,000 tonnes per annum from 180,000 tonnes per annum while Prominent Hill production in 2012 is expected to be 100,000 tonnes to 110,000 tonnes of copper and 130,000 ounces to 150,000 ounces of gold.
The Stuart Shelf project licences are subject to a joint venture agreement with Straits which has the right to earn a 70% interest in the tenements by spending AUD 10 million on exploration over 7 years.
UXA has attracted a number of strategic partners, including Straits, and part of its strategy is focused on retaining exposure to advanced exploration projects through joint ventures.
UXA began a second phase mud rotary and diamond drilling program at the Dome 5 lead, zinc, silver prospect in December. The 8 hole, 2,800 meter program is designed to test the potential exploration target of 5 million to 10 million tonnes of mineralized body at 10% lead plus zinc with silver credits.
UXA is aiming to better define the extent of mineralization at Dome 5 and enable the definition of a maiden resource estimate. Drilling carried out in May 2011 identified 500 meter wide zone of high grade intercepts including 3 meters at 15.8% lead plus zinc and 63 grams per tonne silver from 315 meters.
A second zone of mineralization 5 meters below the upper zone returned 1.29 meters at 6.88% lead plus zinc and 20 gram per tonne silver from 322.76 meters. Part of the Mundi Plains project, Dome 5 is located 50 kilometers northwest of Broken Hill in New South Wales.
(Sourced from www.proactiveinvestors.com)
