Cloncurry Results Promising

Sydney Morning Herald

Thursday July 22, 1993

By BRUCE HEXTALL Resources Writer

The recently floated Cloncurry Mining Co NL has rewarded its shareholders by coming up with strong exploration results in its quest for an economic orebody in the north Queensland district of Cloncurry.

The results were revealed yesterday in the company's June-quarter report, which highlighted a successful drilling program at the company's Victory/Flagship prospect, 50km south-east of Cloncurry.

Cloncurry's managing director, Mr Malcolm Mayger, said the results from the first stage drilling program on the prospect had raised the company's expectations of finding an economic copper-rich orebody with a gold overlay.

Drill program results along the strike length of 1.07km included a series of sizable intersects that indicated "very encouraging" gold and copper values in the previously undrilled prospect.

The 24-hole shallow percussion drilling program yielded the first significant gold values since the company was listed last year.

The results included 14 metres yielding 3.52 grams per tonne (gpt) of gold and 0.45 per cent copper and six metres yielding 2.49 gpt of gold and 0.49 per cent copper.

Mr Mayger said infill drilling was required to establish the extent of the resource, which remained open at both length and depth. However, the results were sufficiently encouraging for Cloncurry to concentrate its exploration effort in the Victory area.

The company is one of the few juniors to have tied up exploration leases in what is becoming one of the Australia's hottest gold/copper plays.

Interest was heightened by Western Mining Corp's controversial Ernest Henry discovery, which is by far the richest orebody identified to date. But other mining majors have also been muscling in on the area.

Placer Pacific's Osborne base metals property is nearby and is expected to reveal some strong results while Homestake Australia and its junior partner, Valdora Minerals NL, are believed to be about to report some strong results from their Copper-Canyon prospect in the same area.

Meanwhile, Border Gold NL yesterday defied the trend of falling prices for gold stocks after the failure of the bullion price to break through $US400 an ounce.

The stock rose 19c to 27c after announcing it had turned up significant results at its Gidgee property in the Kalgoorlie region.

The company said four holes were drilled on the north-east edge of the deposit with three encountering a significant gold bearing zone along a 130m strike length to a depth of 50m. It is earning a 70 per cent equity interest in the Gidgi prospect from Ramsgate Resources by spending $600,000 on a three-year exploration program.

© 1993 Sydney Morning Herald

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