WA Copperhead Polymetallic
The Copperhead Project is located approximately 300km east-northeast of Carnarvon and 950km north of Perth in Western Australia. The Exploration Licences are 100% owned and operated by Copperhead Pty Ltd a wholly owned subsidiary of Argent Minerals Limited. Access can be gained along the sealed North West Coastal Highway and then via along Maroonah Road, thence along the gravelled gravel station tracks through the tenements.
From 1966 to 1967, Westfield Minerals (WA) NL conducted regional exploration in the area surrounding Mt Palgrave down to lllirie Creek Prospect area which incorporated rock chip sampling, trenching, and drilling. At Mount Palgrave Prospect, rock chip sampling included copper assays including 1.12% Cu, 4.6% Cu, 6.8% Cu and 14.2% Cu. Trench 1 intersected 13m@3.35% Cu along with first pass RAB drilling intersecting copper mineralisation at a shallow depth. Drillhole PDH19, 8.7m @ 2.44% Cu from 10.4m, Drillhole PDH17A, 8.7m @ 0.76% Cu from 10.4m and Drillhole P17 @ 0.74% Cu from 1.7m. This was never followed up through further ground exploration.
Anomaly A Prospect yielded high-grade copper mineralisation from 3 trenches varying from 2.7% Cu to 5.6% Cu. The location of these areas is hosted within a north-western trending syncline proximal to the fold hinge hosted within the Discovery Formation Siltstone/Chert. Anomaly C (b) Prospect trenching has also yielded high grade copper mineralisation varying from 0.3% Cu to 11.3% hosted within the Discovery Formation Siltstone/Chert. Approximately 1km NNW from Anomaly C (b) Prospect, Anomaly C (a) trenching has also yielded high grade copper mineralisation from the surface varying from 1.35% to 12.6% Cu with RAB drillhole C (a) 5 intersecting 10.97m @ 2.47% Cu from 3.66m. IIirie Creek Prospect is also hosted within the Discovery Formation Siltstone with 3 trenches intersecting stratabound secondary copper mineralisation varying from 0.77% Cu to 6.27% Cu.
All the mineralization delineated in these copper prospect areas have been classified as sedimentary stratiform zinc-copper mineralization occurs in black carbonaceous, pyritic shale of the Discovery Siltstone and Chert, located in a syncline of Jillawarra Formation. Gossans contain chrysocolla, malachite and goslarite. In drill cuttings, sphalerite and covellite are the main sulfides of interest in the generally pyritic shale/siltstone. Both sphalerite and covellite occur in the matrix of the rock, but most sphalerite is contained, with pyrite, in late-stage siliceous veins. Traces of chalcopyrite, chalcocite and galena are also present.
Walk-up Ground Targets Delineated
A review of these datasets and correlation to geology has returned a total of 26 geophysical based targets. These include 21 base metal and 5 REE targets and have been selected over known mineralised trends, within favourable lithology and where anomalous responses are evident.
Argent provided prospect plans for the Mt Palgrave, Mt Palgrave Anomalies A-B-C and Illirie Creek highlighting known mineral occurrences located within the Copperhead project area. The plans indicate historical sampling have returned 14% Cu in rock chips along with anomalous Pb and Zn at Mt Palgrave (Prospects 1, 2 and 3A), up to 12.6% Cu in trench (channel) sampling at Mt Palgrave Anomaly A and C (a) and C (b) and 6.27% Cu in trench (channel) sampling at Illirie Creek. It appears that all the occurrences are hosted within pyritic and carbonaceous shales of the Discovery Formation.
Aerial Electromagnetic Surveys (AEM) has shown to be effective at highlighting anomalous responses related to known mineral occurrences. The targets have been defined over anomalous responses to provide localised areas for follow up investigation. It is noted that for many of the targets and known occurrences, the prospectivity extends considerably further along strike were indications of base metal mineralisation.
Potential structural strataform Cu-Zn mineralisation hosted within the Discovery Formation has been estimated to be over 84km within the Project areas. Layered mafic Ni-Cu-PGE potential within the gabbro/dolerite lithology has over 76km within the Project areas.
