High-grade historical copper production by Hudbay Mining:
>10Mt @ c1.5% Cu produced (plus Au/Ag credits)
Open pit (1967-1971) and Underground (1972-1982)
30 known deposits/prospects within a contiguous 35km x 5km area
No modern exploration since 1982, when an economic downturn and depressed copper prices resulted in mine closure.
The Cowley Park prospect reached Feasibility stage before the mine was closed – as a result, it was never mined.
All previous operations and residual reserves open along strike and down dip.
RECENT EXPLORATION: COWLEY PARK
High-grade, near surface shallow copper-molybdenum skarn system intersected over > 700 metres of strike.
Drilling completed by Gladiator has confirmed broad widths and continuity of copper-molybdenum mineralization from near surface consistent with historical results.
Mineralization remains open along strike and down dip in all directions.
A new copper-molybdenum mineralization zone (CPG-015) from 204m was discovered 50 metres south and underneath of the historical drilling area, highlighting the potential exploration upside and under-explored nature of Cowley Park.
Drill results have indicated high-grade copper skarn mineralization open along strike and at depth, including:
CHIEFS TREND - LITTLE CHIEF PROSPECT
The Little Chief prospect is the largest historically producing mine in the Whitehorse Copper Belt.
Total mined production: 8.54 million tons grading at >1.5% Copper and ~0.75 g/t gold.
Mineralization at Little Chief appears to be intact and open to the south, down plunge and up dip.
Limited testing of “Up Dip” extensions to the mineralization conducted due to being predominantly drilled from underground, little surface drilling.
Drilling prior to 1982 mine closure is limited and has not closed off the unmined high-grade mineralization at Middle Chief and Little Chief.
Scope for further testing between Middle Chief and Little Chief.
CHIEFS TREND - MIDDLE CHIEF PROSPECT
Historic drilling completed from underground drives.
Compiled historical data indicates a significant body of shallow mineralization (120m below surface) may exist at the Middle Chief prospect.
Minimal drilling has been completed from surface, significant potential for “up dip” mineralization remains. Best historic results include:
Gladiator commenced a diamond drill program at the Middle Chief Prospect in early 2024.
Mineralization now defined over > 500 metres of strike.
Drill results received for 20 holes (4,794 metres) returned significant copper and gold mineralization, including:
ARCTIC CHIEF TREND - PREVIOUSLY MINED TARGETS
Two shallow open-cut pits ~4 km NW of Little Chief with high tenor Au, established in transition from surface to underground mining.
Recent drone magnetics and rock chip sampling has significantly upscaled the potential of mineralization along strike.
Historically known for high Au, supported by rock chip sampling:
The Arctic Chief Trend includes the Best Chance & Grafter Prospects, where unmined historical drill results have indicated mineralization that remains open along strike and at depth (see map).
Collation of historic drilling data at the Arctic Chief identified unmined zones of mineralization, including:
CUB TREND - ADDITIONAL TARGETS
The Cub Trend comprises significant mineralization intersected in drilling over a strike of > 1.2km associated with a magnetic high feature.
Small open-cut operations were completed at Keewenaw and Black Cub South & pre-stripping was undertaken at Gem prior to the closure of the Little Chief Mine.
Gladiator collated historical drill data from previously mined & unmined zones at the Cub Trend, near Cowley Park. Significant intersects included:
Maintain a clear line of sight on future resource growth.
Dominate local and regional tenement.
Demonstrate best class community relations and environmental standards.
THE KOONENBERRY NORTH PROJECT
UNDER-EXPLORED STATE
New South Wales, Australia has a gold endowment* exceeding 3252 tonnes (t)/ 104 million ounces (Moz)
Host to a diverse range of gold deposit types, with gold being produced as either the principal commodity (e.g. Cadia ,Cowal) or as a by-product (e.g. Northparke)
The Koonenberry Belt is now interpreted to be a Cambrianarc built on the rifted margin of Gondwana and the northern extension of the Lachlan Orogen, where it is covered by younger sequences
HISTORICAL EXPLORATION
The Koonenberry North Project is located in the northwestern part of New South Wales, within a 200km long NW‐trending belt.
Historical exploration
• 1960s to 1990s: Sporadic exploration focused on gold, copper and base metals, predominantly in the Grasmere and Wertago areas. Encouraging drill intersections, but tenements relinquished due to poor economic conditions
• Since 2000: The Geological Survey of New South Wales (“GSNSW”) completed regional geological mapping, high-resolution geophysical data acquisition and deep seismic reflection surveys. Numerous regolith and baseline geochemistry studies in the Koonenberry Belt. Major advancements in the understanding of the geological history of the Koonenberry Belt.
• Apart from stream sediment sampling programs, most of the prospecting and surface sampling within the Koonenberry Belt has taken place over areas to the south of the Bangles ELs.
GEOLOGY AND MINERALISATION
The Koonenberry Belt is interpreted to be prospective for a range of commodities (Gilmore & Greenfield, 2015) including:
• VMS Cu–Zn–Ag–Au
• Turbidite‐hosted orogenic Au
• Orthomagmatic Ni–Cu–PGE
• Epithermal Ag–Pb–Cu
• Porphyry Cu–Au
• MVT/stratiform Pb–Zn–Ag
The basement to the Koonenberry belt consists of rocks belonging to the Curnamona Province of the Early Proterozoic Broken Hill Block (Willyama Supergroup), which is extensively mineralized elsewhere in western and central NSW.
TARGETS
The exploration rationale is based on the perceived prospectivity for turbidite‐hostedorogenic Au deposits.
• Primary targets: High grade quartz‐gold veins, which occur throughout the region
All of these styles have been identified within the Koonenberry Belt by geologists from the NSW Geological Survey (Gilmore, 2010).
2022 EXPLORATION
Thomson Airborne completed an airborne magnetics and radiometrics survey over the Koonenberry North Project area during March 2021.
6,902.2 line kilometres over three blocks covering EL9050 and EL9062 only
The E‐W traverse lines were spaced at 100m intervals, with a mean terrain clearance of 45m.
N‐S tie lines were spaced at 1,000m intervals.
The survey utilized a Geometrics G822Amagnetometer and a Radiations Solutions RS400 spectrometer. A base station magnetometer was used to determine diurnal fluctuations.
The following information was obtained:
• Digital Terrain Model (DTM)
• Total Magnetic Intensity (TMI)
• Rotated to Pole magnetics (RTP)
• First vertical derivative of magnetic intensity (1VD)
• Second vertical derivative of magnetic intensity (2VD)
• Radiometrics (K, Th, U & Total count)
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