Horseshoe Lights
Location
The historic Horseshoe Lights gold-copper mine and associated tenements are located approximately 800 km north-northeast of Perth and 140 km north of Meekatharra.
The Horseshoe Lights Project comprises of eighteen tenements that cover an area approximately 340 square kilometres.
Production History
The Horseshoe Lights deposit was discovered in 1946 and was in production up until 1994.The total life of mine production to 1994 is summarised in the table below:
| Period | Owner | Type | Tonnes | Au (g/t) | Cu (%) | Ag (g/t) | Hg (g/t) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1946-87 | Various | Gold ore | 1,519,446 | 4.2 | |||
| 1988 | Barrack | Gold ore | 90,360 | 4.6 | |||
| 1988-91 | Barrack | Total treated | 934,703 | 1.9 | 2.7 | 44.0 | 26.3 |
| 1992-94 | Sabminco | Total treated | 754,611 | 1.6 | 3.9 | 66.0 | 37.3 |
| Total | 3,299,120 | 2.9 | 1.7 | 27.5 | 16.0 |
HIstoric Resource Estimates
In 2013 the Company commissioned CSA Global Pty Limited to undertake a mineral resource estimation using the historical drilling database and the results from the company’s 2010/11 and 2012/13 drilling programmes (94 RC drill holes, 9 Diamond drill holes and 3 Diamond Tails for 19,951 m).
| Category | Tonnes (Mt) | Cu (%) | Au (g/t) | Ag (g/t) | Cu metal (tonnes) | Au metal (oz) | Ag metal (k oz) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Measured | 1.73 | 1.04 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 18,000 | 1,900 | 28.8 |
| Indicated | 2.43 | 0.95 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 23,200 | 3,400 | 52.2 |
| Inferred | 8.69 | 1.01 | 0.1 | 2.6 | 87,400 | 30,700 | 712.4 |
| Total | 12.85 | 1.00 | 0.1 | 1.9 | 128,600 | 36,000 | 793.4 |
Exploration Potential
The potential to host additional copper-gold resources within the current tenements can be supported by the following evidence:
- Past production of around 3.3 Mt at 1.7% Cu and 2.9 g/t Au demonstrates the project area is significantly mineralised.
- The area has major regional shear structures that have tended to displace the mineralised zones that were being mined (such as the east northeast striking fault recognised late during the mining that terminated the Southern end of the main ore-body. These structures have excellent potential to yield en-echelon ore-body repetitions elsewhere within the project area.
- There has been extensive surface disturbance, potentially obscuring any surface expression of mineralised extensions and hampering access for drilling; and as a result there has been little exploration to locate potentially displaced mineralisation.
Potential also exists for en-echelon repetitions of the Horseshoe Lights deposit, especially in the area immediately east of the pit, near the CIP tailings dam and vat leach areas. These areas have only received limited drilling in the past.
Motters Background
Motters Zone is an unmined nor-norwesterly striking, steep-westerly dipping shear-related zone of predominantly oxide copper mineralisation, being inferred as part of an easterly limb to the main Horseshoe Cu-Au mineralisation. It is stoped and terminated by a cross-cutting dolerite unit which daylights to the north, and dips to the SW at around 30°. The dolerite is weathered at surface and is copper mineralised in proximity to the Motters Zone from this weathering effect. It takes its name from the main small shallow underground working on the shear, Motters.
Motters Exploration Activities
Motters oxide infill drilling will be conducted in several phases (starting in September 2025) at a 10 metre by 10 metre spacing to a depth of about 50 metres focussed on the northern 240 metres of strike extending south of the northern dolerite contact. The infill drilling is designed to increase the level of confidence of oxide resources in this area from inferred to indicated and allow their inclusion a scoping study.
A total of 1824 metres was completed in 44 holes during Phase 1, with better results including:
- 33m @ 1.18% Cu from 0m (25HRC019)
- 27m @ 1.58% Cu from 0m (25HRC028)
- 40m @ 1.18% Cu from 0m (25HRC029)
- 32m @ 1.11% Cu from 0m (25HRC034)
- 41m @ 1.23% Cu from 0m (25HRC035)
- 40m @ 0.96% Cu from 0m (25HRC045)
Phase 2 RC drilling will commence in 2026 and focus on the offset southern extension toward the Northeast corner of the Horseshoe Lights open pit where several
significant drill intercepts have been previously recorded.
Planned Work
The following activities are planned over the coming months:
- Commencement of Phase 2 Drilling at Motters next quarter;
- RC drill testing Main Zone northern extension along strike and down plunge
- RC drill testing of Motters southern extension down plunge
- Additional metallurgical test work on oxide copper stockpiles and targets
- Gravity recovery test work on Copper Flotation and CIP tailings
- Update of 2014 scoping study at current and projected future copper prices
- Rock chip sampling of outcropping quartz veins and jasperoids.