Mining

Lefroy Exploration unearths high-grade gold and copper southeast of Kalgoorlie

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By Robin Bromby - 
Lefroy Exploration ASX LEX Burns gold copper mineralisation drilling

Lefroy Exploration has uncovered 60m at 5.22g/t gold and 0.38% copper from 112m at Burns.

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Assays from one of the initial 10 drill holes at the Burns prospect owned by Lefroy Exploration (ASX: LEX) has produced “outstanding” high-grade gold and copper mineralisation.

Burns is part of the company’s namesake Lefroy project area, located 60km southeast of Kalgoorlie.

That hole, number 260, intersected 60m at 5.22 grams per tonne gold and 0.38% copper from 112m down hole, with the hole ending in mineralisation.

This intercept included one 20m section assaying 12.2g/t gold, 0.87% copper and 1.7g/t silver.

Lefroy chairman Gordon Galt said this result “is outstanding by any measure and is quite exciting”.

This will be followed up as soon as possible, he added.

More drilling planned

“We will need to look north, south, east and deeper from this discovery hole to establish the structure/s which have delivered this intersection,” he said.

Mr Galt added the next phase of drilling is now being scheduled.

Assays are awaited from another 10 holes from the same drilling program earlier this year.

Lefroy describes itself as taking a disciplined methodical and conceptual approach in the search for high value gold deposits in the Yilgarn Block of Western Australia.

The 100% owned Lefroy gold project contains mainly granted tenure and covers 621sq km between Kalgoorlie and Norseman.

The project is in proximity to Gold Fields’ St Ives gold camp, which contains the Invincible gold mine located in Lake Lefroy and is also immediately south of Silver Lake Resources’ (ASX: SLR) Daisy Milano gold mining operation.

Gold, copper discovered but then owner taken over

The Burns prospect has some history.

It was drilled by BHP (ASX: BHP) in 1985 and in the 1990s by the former Western Mining Corporation, followed in 2007 by Newmont Mining.

In 2011, the former Octagonal Resources discovered gold and copper mineralisation with aircore drilling, and follow up work using reverse circulation drilling.

Results from that work included 9m at 1.5g/t gold and 1% copper, 1m at 8.5 g/t gold and 6.7% copper, as well as 3m at 16.1 g/t and 0.5% copper.

In 2016, Octagonal drilled two further diamond holes which struck additional gold and copper, but then that company was taken over by another junior, the former A1 Consolidated Mining.