Melbourne, Feb 25, 2009 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Rex Minerals Limited (ASX:RXM) exploration activities are focused on copper-gold exploration in South Australia and gold-silver exploration in New South Wales. The Group sold its Victorian Gold Projects during the period for a total of A$1.48 million cash consideration.
In South Australia, Rex has focussed its attention on the Hillside Project which is situated on the east coast of the Yorke Peninsula. Drilling results over the past year have significantly improved the understanding of the copper mineralisation at Hillside with the assay results improving at each stage.
From this information, the geological evidence suggests that the largest concentration of copper is yet to be identified, which is interpreted by Rex to exist at depth and is associated with the cause of a local gravity anomaly. Recent drilling down the Zanoni structure identified a series of very high grade copper lenses, which dip steeply in the opposite direction to the main structure.
The combination of these high grade intervals and surrounding lower grade rocks produced drilling results which are of an exceptional quality over large scale mining lengths, including: 75m (estimated true width of 31.7m) @ 3.3% copper and 0.8 g/t gold and 26m (estimated true width of 11m) @ 4.4% copper and 0.9g/t gold. The total down hole interval for drill hole HDD018W1 was 259m @ 1.7% copper and 0.4g/t gold. Although the latest results are of an exceptionally high quality, Rex intends to keep drilling for the discovery of the largest possible copper deposit on the Yorke Peninsula before narrowing the focus to one location for the purpose of defining a copper-gold-uranium Resource.
Rex also completed some gravity survey work at the Parara Project, which is situated approximately 12km north of Hillside. A number of important features were identified in the area that have given Rex the confidence to plan drilling in the area, and increase the priority of this drilling.
An important observation in the regional magnetic data on the Yorke Peninsula is the presence of a large linear feature, known as the Pine Point Fault Zone. Rex's licence holding extends for over 50km along the Pine Point Fault Zone, which Rex believes to be a crucial controlling fault for copper mineralisation in this part of the Gawler Craton. The exploration effort in South Australia is aimed at finding multiple copper-gold-uranium deposits on the Yorke Peninsula, followed by more detailed definition of the larger high grade deposits that have been discovered.
The Hillside Project and the other copper projects Rex is exploring along the Pine Point Fault Zone display a number of very significant economic and logistical advantages to most other copper projects throughout Australia. These include:
- The Projects are within 2 hours drive of Adelaide, providing excellent access to skilled people and equipment and are also situated within 20km of the nearest port, at the township of Ardrossan.
- The Projects are situated on freehold agricultural land.
- The host rocks of the copper-gold mineralisation exist underneath thin cover sediments, which range in thickness from 5m to 70m, with the average estimated to be less than 50m.
At the Mt Carrington Project in NSW, Rex completed a comprehensive review of the drilling and geological information leading to an updated Resource estimate.
The gold Resources at Mt Carrington predominantly occur within three deposits (Kylo, Strauss and Guy Bell) that are in close proximity to each other and to existing infrastructure. Previous operations at Mt Carrington have established infrastructure which can form part of a new development opportunity. This infrastructure includes access to mains power, a fresh water dam, a tailings dam and a cleared plant site (previous processing plant was removed).
The deposits display considerable potential for further extensions to each of the existing gold Resources at depth and along strike. A number of areas have yet to be tested in between the existing deposits, providing opportunities to increase the shallow Resources that are amenable to open pit mining within the existing mine site area.
The silver Resources and additional exploration potential provide a unique opportunity and exposure to the silver price. The largest silver Resource at Mt Carrington is at White Rock which contains 8.5Mozs of silver with additional drilling outside the resource indicating that the silver mineralisation extends well beyond the existing Resource.
Contact
Steven Olsen (Managing Director)
Or
Janet Mason (Company Secretary).
Phone: TEL: +61-3-5337-4000
E-mail: info@rexminerals.com.au
www.rexminerals.com.au
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