Broken Hill Gold opens door on major SA copper-gold system

The latest assays from Broken Hill Gold’s Icebreaker prospect in South Australia have given fresh legs to the theory it may have stumbled onto a significant new gold-copper system just metres beneath an existing oxide resource.

The company, formerly PacGold, has unveiled more broad sulphide hits at its 100 per cent-owned White Dam project, 80km from Broken Hill. It says the results confirm a consistent gold-copper zone open in all directions and at depth, strengthening evidence that July’s discovery was no one-hit wonder.

A standout hole delivered 46 metres grading 1.1 grams per tonne (g/t) gold and 0.3 per cent copper from 37m across oxide and sulphide mineralisation. Deeper zones returned 25m at 1.5g/t gold and 0.5 per cent copper from 58m and 28m at 2.4g/t gold and 0.7 per cent copper from 93m, including 16m at 3.5g/t gold and 0.9 per cent copper from 96m.

The hole ended at 126m in anomalous gold and copper. Another returned 12m at 1.6g/t gold and 0.4 per cent copper from 51m and finished mineralised, while a third cut several sulphide zones between 45m and 96m.

The findings add to July’s 20m at 2.5g/t gold and 0.5 per cent copper from 58m, with the company saying sulphide grades show an appreciable lift over the mineralisation above.

The discovery emerged almost by accident while drilling to upgrade Icebreaker’s 20,300-ounce oxide resource. Sulphides appeared just 5m to 15m beneath it, marking White Dam’s first primary sulphide-hosted gold-copper discovery.

Broken Hill Gold believes the broad widths within 50m of surface beneath gold slated for mining and heap leaching point to substantial bulk tonnage open-pit potential. Tested only to 120m below the surface, the company says continuous mineralisation reaches 90m in thickness in places, although its size and geometry remain undefined.

Broken Hill Gold managing director Matthew Boyes said: “We have no idea how large this could be, as the sulphide discovery was made while we were drilling one of the lowest grade areas of the oxide system. The Curnamona province is becoming some of the most prized exploration ground in Australia primarily for IOCG and large metasediment-hosted copper-gold systems.”

Induced polarisation and magnetic surveys will sharpen Icebreaker targets before drilling resumes in September. The reverse circulation rig will return after targeting, while a diamond rig will probe deeper and investigate a large gravity anomaly beneath the prospect.

Geophysics will also cover targets at Rolling, White Dam East and Vertigo Deeps, with Rolling on the same magnetic feature as Icebreaker. Meanwhile, 73 oxide holes are feeding a resource upgrade ahead of pit optimisation and mine planning.

White Dam sits in South Australia’s Curnamona Province, a mineral-rich region known for gold-copper systems. Broken Hill Gold says shallow oxide gold caps can mask primary sulphide mineralisation.