Adelaide, Oct 19, 2006 AEST (ABN Newswire) - The Directors of Discovery Nickel Limited (ASX: DNL) are pleased to announce further results from the continuing 6000m diamond drill program on the Maun Copper Project in NW Botswana.
Highlights
-Drill hole GD051-06 intersected 5m @ 2.1% Cu and 47.5 g/t Ag from 126m Drill hole GD053-06 intersected 11m @ 1.5% Cu and 27.5 g/t Ag from 243m including 8m @ 1.7% Cu and 33 g/t Ag.
The copper-silver intersection in GD053-06 has extended the mineralisation on section 40,900N a further 140m down-dip at potentially economic grades and thicknesses.
Drilling has recently recommenced at the Zeta Inferred Copper Resource. The P Grid (10km to the north of Zeta Inferred Copper Resource) drill program has been increased to sixteen holes of which twelve have been completed.
Overall the drill program is approximately 30% complete. Zeta Inferred Copper Resource Diamond Drill Program The diamond drilling currently in progress at the Zeta Inferred Copper Resource forms part of a 6000m diamond drill program DNL is undertaking on it's 100% owned Maun Copper Project in NW Botswana. The main objectives of the current program are to; (i) extend the existing Zeta Inferred Copper Resource (20Mt @ 1.2% Cu) to the SW; (ii) complete drilling at P Grid to potentially allow the definition of an Inferred Resource and; (iii) to test new exploration targets. Drilling has recently recommenced at Zeta following the relocation of two drill rigs from P Grid where twelve of sixteen holes have been completed to date.
Discovery's Managing Director, Mr Jeremy Read, said that the latest drill results from the Zeta Inferred Copper Resource indicate potentially economic grades and widths of copper-silver mineralisation and consequently have added value to the current Zeta resource.
"The grades of the copper-silver mineralisation intersected in drill holes GD051-06 and GD053-06 exceed the average grade required for a cash flow positive operation, while the width of the mineralisation exceeds the minimum mining width as determined by the Preliminary Mining Assessment, whose results we announced recently," Mr Read said.
"These new holes add value to the Zeta Resource and consequently we have moved the drill rigs back to Zeta in order to accelerate follow up of these initial positive results" he said.
Zeta Inferred Copper Resource
Twenty holes are planned to be drilled at Zeta in order to extend the currently defined Inferred Resource to the SW and to infill within the existing boundary of the Inferred Resource. The results from drill hole GD052-06 on section 40,900N were announced on 5 th October, 2006. Drill hole GD053-06 was also drilled on section 40,900N, while hole GD051-06 was drilled on section 40,500N 400m to the SW Drill hole GD053-06 was drilled to test the down dip extension of mineralisation intersected at shallow depths by historical holes GRC001, GRC002, GRC003, GRC004 and DNL diamond drill hole GD052-06 (Figure Two). GD053-06 intersected a broad intersection of 11m @ 1.5% Cu and 27.5 g/t Ag from 243m including 8m @ 1.7% Cu and 33 g/t Ag. This indicates the copper-silver mineralisation extends to depth at potentially economic grades and mineable widths with a significant increase in grade on section 40,900N. Section 40,000N, occurring 900m SW of Section 40,900N, also contains depth extensive mineralisation with historical hole GD3 recording 6.5m @ 2.1% Cu and 21 g/t Ag from 72m and GD2 recording 12m @ 2.3% Cu and 7 g/t Ag from 237m. On both sections 40,900N and 40,000N the copper-silver mineralisation extends to the surface but remains open at depth, making the mineralisation potentially suitable for extraction via an open pit followed by underground mining from the bottom of an open pit.
Drill hole GD051-06 (section 40,500N) was a redrill of hole GRC012, which was a reverse circulation ("RC") drill hole completed by Delta Gold. GRC012 returned an intersection of 5m @ 2.3% Cu and 54 g/t Ag in comparison to GD051-06 which returned 5m @ 2.1% Cu and 47.5 g/t Ag (Figure Three). The higher grade intersections at depth on sections 40,000N (12m @ 2.3% Cu) and 40,900N (8m @ 1.7% Cu) suggest that the mineralisation intersected in GD051-06 (section 40,500N) potentially extends to significant depth. On all sections 40,000N, 40,500N and 40,900N the copper-silver mineralisation is open at depth and along strike. Drill hole GD054-06 is currently in progress on section 39,450N, and is drilling above historical hole ZG5, which recorded an intersection of 14.4m @ 1.2% Cu from 153m, in order to test the up-dip extent of the mineralisation and to determine if the mineralisation extends to the surface.
P Grid
Due to intersecting broader widths of mineralisation than initially expected the P Grid drill program has been extended to sixteen holes of which twelve have been completed to date (Table One). The sixteen holes will test approximately 2.2 strike/km of copper-silver mineralisation extending NE and SW from historical hole PR4. Drilling has been temporarily suspended at P Grid to allow the recommencement of drilling at Zeta and pending geochemical results. The geochemical results are required to allow the finalisation of the final four drill holes at P Grid.
Timing of Results
With a second drill rig on site the pace of the drill program has accelerated considerably. Both diamond drill rigs have been mobilised to the Zeta Inferred Copper Resource to commence drilling a series of holes whose purpose it is to determine the potential to extend the Inferred Copper Resource to the SW and to infill drill within the existing Inferred Copper Resource. DNL is aiming to have drilling on the Zeta Inferred Copper Resource completed by early December.
It is anticipated that geochemical and drill results from the first seven P Grid drill holes should be able to be announced within the next month. o date 1978m of the planned 6000m of diamond drilling have been completed.
Contact
Peter Gill
Senior Consultant
FIELD PUBLIC RELATIONS
231 South Road
MILE END SA 5031
Tel: 08 8234 9555
Fax: 08 8234 9566
Mb: 0417 784 059
peter@fieldpr.com.au
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