Source : THE AGE NEWS
Litchfield Minerals is set to put a newly refined exploration blueprint, shaped through BHP Xplor, to its first real-world test, with three ground geophysical surveys scheduled to kick off in July across its Oonagalabi and Silver Valley projects in Australia’s Northern Territory.
The company says the work will test a belt-scale mineral systems framework developed recently through its nine-month BHP Xplor program. The modelling has given it a more integrated and refreshed view of its Northern Territory project pipeline, rather than treating each prospect as a standalone target.
Although the BHP Xplor is a fixed-term exploration accelerator program rather than an open-ended partnership, Litchfield is already moving from collaborative technical development into practical field validation. The July program is designed to reduce geological uncertainty, refine targets and help guide future drilling decisions.
At Oonagalabi, in the Harts Range region, 120km northeast of Alice Springs, Planetary Geophysics has been engaged to run a combined magnetotelluric (MT) and gravity survey from early July. The survey will test the western tenement area, where previous work identified a conductivity anomaly at an estimated depth of 2.5km.
‘This approach will help us better understand the geology and reduce exploration risk.’
Litchfield Minerals managing director Matthew Pustahya
The work will use MT recording stations spaced at 1km to 2km intervals and gravity stations at 500m intervals. It builds on the deep-imaging approach used in the 09GA-GA1 deep crustal seismic reflection line, a collaborative Geoscience Australia and Northern Territory Geological Survey program that mapped deep crustal architecture across parts of Central Australia.
Litchfield expects the Oonagalabi acquisition to take 30 to 40 days, with completion anticipated in mid-to-late August and processing to run in parallel. Results are expected in the September quarter and will feed into the next phase of target ranking and potential drilling.
The company also plans to launch an induced polarisation (IP) survey at its Silver Valley project in the southern Davenport Province, 325km northeast of Alice Springs. Australian Geophysical Services will run the work across the Murray Downs Dome, which hosts later-formed, structurally controlled, quartz-vein-hosted silver, lead and copper mineralisation.
Litchfield managing director Matthew Pustahya said: “The completion of our mineral systems framework marked an important milestone for Litchfield. This next phase is about testing that model in the field and using the results to progressively refine our exploration targets across Harts Range and Silver Valley.”
Silver Valley gives the July program a second front. Previous reconnaissance rock chip sampling by Litchfield at the project returned high-grade polymetallic hits of up to 378 grams per tonne (g/t) silver, 5.04 per cent copper and 44.9 per cent lead. Other previously reported results included 128g/t silver, 0.07g/t gold, 0.02 per cent copper and 16.1 per cent lead.
Litchfield says induced polarisation geophysics is well suited to sniffing out sulphide-related mineralisation beneath the surface, giving the company another tool for generating future drill targets.
The new round of exploration geophysics follows a busy first half for the junior explorer. Its March quarterly report showed BHP Xplor had delivered US$500,000 in non-dilutive funding and technical support, while recent drilling continued to return broad copper-zinc mineralisation at Oonagalabi and flagged other unresolved deeper and regional targets.
Those drilling results included a 68.26m diamond hole intercept grading 0.62 per cent copper, 1.44 per cent zinc and 4.3g/t silver from 10m, with another hole delivering a 120m reverse-circulation hit running 0.35 per cent copper, 0.92 per cent zinc and 4.1g/t silver from 52m.
For Litchfield, the next few weeks look less like a standing start and more like the first field test of what the BHP Xplor program has helped refine. The July boots-on-the-ground push gives the impression of a company invigorated by what it has gleaned from the program.
If the upcoming geophysical surveys can turn deep geological theory into drillable targets, the company should have a stronger case for backing the next stage itself – or weighing up fresh funding support – with a much clearer map in hand.
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