Gortdrum is part of the group’s wholly-owned PG West project and two holes were sunk 1 kilometer (km) and 2.2km away from the former mine (mined between 1967 and 1975), along the main mineralizing structure – the “Gortdrum Fault Zone”. Group Eleven Resources Corp has been encouraged by its first exploration drilling at its Gortdrum copper-silver prospect – Ireland’s only modern, commercial-scale, copper mine.
One hole, from a depth of 46.2 metres (m) hit 14.4m of 0.221% copper and 2.1 g/t silver, including 0.80m of 0.620% copper and 4.4 g/t silver. The other, from 32.35m downhole, hit assays including 1.6m of 0.532% copper and 22.3 g/t silver, and 2.9m of 0.151% copper and 0.5 g/t silver.
Bart Jaworski, CEO at Group Eleven, told investors the company had been “pleasantly surprised” at just how extensive and continuous the zone of shallow copper mineralization appears to be.
“We see a lot of scope for a step-change at Gortdrum, given most historic holes were drilled vertically (on very steep structures), very few historic intercepts were assayed for silver and prospective NW-trending splay faults do not appear to have yet been explored,” he said.
This results represent the first drilling at Gortdrum since 1975 and show potentially a series of parallel faults across several hundred metres and a strike of 3km.
“Gortdrum was the first asset acquired by the company and, after being effectively off-the-market for over 40 years previously, it is great to see this prospect finally get the attention it deserves,” said the CEO.
“Gortdrum is integral to our flagship PG West zinc project in the Limerick Basin and is thought to represent the copper-rich ‘roots’ of the zinc prospects in the area.”
The site was mined, via open pit, from late-1967 to mid-1975, producing 38, 000 tonnes of copper and 2.9 million ounces of silver. Around 500,000 tonnes of high-grade copper remain un-mined on the east-end of open pit, at about 100m depth. Exploration drilling ceased in 1975 and the prospect lay dormant for over four decades as a prospecting licence was not reinstated after the mining lease (SML89) expired in 1986. This oversight was identified by Group Eleven in 2014 and the Gortdrum prospecting licenses were awarded in February 2015, the company said.
Source: proactiveinvestors.com
