Mt Read Project
Location, Access and Infrastructure
Located on the Sorrell Peninsular in western Tasmania, the Mount Read Project comprises a number of Cobalt-Copper-Nickel-Gold and base-metal prospects
Figure 1: Topographic map of Mt Read Cobalt Project tenements.
Figure 2: Mount Read Cobalt Project tenure and location.
Tenure
The MRV are host to all Western Tasmania’s significant base and precious metal mines and mineral occurrences (Figure 3), several of which have been significant producers of base metals for over 100 years.
The southern extension of the main MRV belt crops out in a N-S trending belt to the east of the Sorell Peninsular, and extends from Mount Darwin, disappearing beneath a Tertiary Graben to re-emerge further south in the D'Aguillar Range area.
The presence of sheared, serpentinised boninitic, dunitic and rhythmically layered harzburgitic rocks, together with boudins of gabbro, suggests a correlation of rocks within the Pt Hibbs Melange Belt with both the Layered Pyroxenite-Gabbro, and Layered Dunite-Harzburgite successions that form the basement section on which the MRV was deposited elsewhere in Western Tasmania.
Historic Exploration
A 2014 IP survey revealed the presence of a chargeability anomaly approximately (at least) 300 m wide and 500m long at 100-200m depth, that did not appear to have been tested by historical shallow exploration drill holes.
Reprocessing and interpretation of historical airborne electromagnetic survey data identified a conductive target within the PHM, ‘Henrietta’, approximately 1.3km in strike length. Preliminary field investigations at Henrietta located gossanous material with elevated nickel anomalism noted at the easternmost extent of a traverse across the centre of the Henrietta EM target.
In 2015, high-grade copper and gold mineralisation was identified at at Thomas Creek. The mineralisation comprised a massive pyrite zone approximately 5m wide, containing abundant copper sulphides hosted within highly weathered saprolitic bedrock, beneath peaty soil cover.
Figure 3:Regional Correlation with the Mount Read Volcanics
Current Exploration Activities
Accelerates’ exploration rationale for targeting intrusion related Co-Cu mineralisation at Thomas Creek was based upon the recognition that modelling of historical data including drilling indicated that IP targets had not been adequately drill tested. Work initially entailed 7.9km of new gridding and clearing to 10.8km total to enable dipole-dipole IP surveys, extending the 2014 Sherlock survey and enabling follow up soil sampling. Three diamond drill holes (TCDD001 to TCDD003) totalling 831.7m were completed, largely targeting IP geophysical anomalies for intrusion related Cu-Co mineralisation.
The drilling intersected an extensive fertile mineralised system bearing abundant disseminated sulphides and containing several felsic-intermediate intrusions and sulphide veining, with associated anomalous copper-cobalt grades. Best results included: 3m @ 2323ppm Co and 0.09% Cu in TCDD001; 46m @ 0.11% Cu in TCDD002; 22m @ 193ppm Co and 0.01% Cu in TCDD003. DHEM which was undertaken on all diamond holes, identified a broad, distant and unconstrained off-hole conductor to the southeast of TCDD003, ~150m east of TCDD001. Strongest vectors to VHMS style alteration were indicated by SWIR data analysis in TCDD003.
Exploration at the Young Henry Prospect targeted an Airborne EM conductor, potentially associated with Nickel-sulphide and platinum-group element mineralisation host within middle Cambrian mafic and ultramafic rocks of the Hibbs Ultramafic Belt. Mineralisation potential was clearly demonstrated with grid based sampling returning Ni, Co, Cu and Zn anomalous soils and gossan located up plunge from a modelled ground FLEM conductor. Drill targeting (YHDD001, 156m EOH) returned two significant intersections of 38.3m @ 0.23% Ni and 17.7m @ 0.19% Ni. Two zones with magmatic Nickel sulphide potential were identified at the base of both serpentinised ultramafics intersected. Investigations including petrology to determine the nature of sulphides are ongoing.
Drill hole TCDD004 was completed at 657m during the reporting year. This completed an ongoing drilling program at Thomas Creek where to-date, Accelerate have completed four diamond drill holes totalling 1490.5m.
