On Tuesday, Rockfire Resources (LSE:ROCK) announced it had identified ‘outstanding past drilling results’ in a review of historical drilling at the Native Bee prospect within the Kookaburra exploration license. Rockfire confirmed it had acquired the license in August increasing the company’s acreage in Queensland, Australia.
The Kookaburra license surrounds Rockfire’s Lighthouse tenement in the Charters Towers district and the explorer says it is targeting a medium- to large-scale, near surface gold resource. Rockfire is securing a significant ground-holding in a district that has produced more than 20 million ounces of gold and continues to produce from three operating, multi-million-ounce gold mines.
The Native Bee prospect lies on a discrete 500m-wide magnetic high anomaly and Rockfire's technical team have identified high-temperature fluid pathways. Since elements have different temperatures of precipitation, an elemental heat map can be generated. The heat map below reveals previously unidentified exploration target zones.
Chief Executive Officer of Rockfire, David Price considers the exploration potential at Native Bee to be ‘very high’ and said:
"Our strategy of systematic appraisal of each of our numerous prospects has identified Native Bee as a high-priority exploration target within the Kookaburra licence. Pegging the Kookaburra tenement has proved to be a prudent, strategic move and is providing Rockfire with material growth opportunity. It is surprising that this prospect has been sitting dormant and unexplored for over 25 years".
The prospect was primarily explored by Dalrymple Resources between 1988 – 1990. Forty-four RAB and RC holes were drilled returning best intervals of 8m @ 2.18 g/t Au, including 3m @ 5.13 g/t Au from 26m vertical depth, and 16m @ 2.14 g/t Au, from 35m vertical depth.
Price comments: "Historical drilling at Native bee has intersected potentially economic gold grades and widths close to surface. This fits nicely with Rockfire's deliberate strategy of accumulation of near-surface gold resources within trucking distance of operational gold processing facilities. Native Bee lies 29km from the operating Pajingo Gold Mine processing facility".
Rockfire has been granted the Kookaburra exploration license, which covers 232 sq. km, for five years and is planning to commence follow up work in early 2019.
Price said: "Rockfire will continue to appraise and rank each of its prospects in conjunction with on-going ground fieldwork. The Company intends to follow up these past significant results with detailed geological and structural mapping. In addition to the mapping, a gradient array IP geophysical and ground magnetic survey will be scheduled for the 2019 field season. Geophysics is expected to highlight the continuity of the sulphide-enriched zones at depth, in order to pinpoint accurate targets for drilling."
Author: Stuart Langelaan
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