Stellar Project
Stellar Copper-Gold Project – 100% Owned
The Stellar Project (100% owned) comprises 231 contiguous State Mining Claims and is located immediately adjacent to the Company’s Caribou Dome Copper Project. The claims cover a total area of ~150Km2.
High Grade Gold and Copper at the Zackly Deposit
The high-grade Zackly Skarn deposit was discovered in 1979 and drilled in 1981 and 1982. Little further work was undertaken until 2017 and 2018 when PolarX drilled over 30 new holes to validate and extend the deposit, including the publication of a maiden JORC resource containing 3.4Mt @ 2.0g/t Au and 1.2% Cu. This was subsequently updated on 17 October 2022 to include PolarX’s subsequent drilling with a new JORC resource containing 4.0Mt @ 1.6g/t Au, 1.1% Cu and 12.6g/t Ag.
The resource only estimates the central zone and does not include strike extensions which require infill drilling prior to inclusion. The mineralisation is not closed off at depth nor along strike.
This mineralisation occurs in the sub-vertical Zackly Main Skarn, which has an average true width of 4-6m and which extends over 1,050m in strike-length. Additional mineralised intersections have discovered below and to the east of the known mineralisation, and it is likely that further infill drilling will see an increase in the resource size.
Of particular note are the intersections in drill holes ZX-18020 and ZX-18024, where much thicker and flatter lying skarn mineralisation has been discovered. This new Zackly East Skarn has the potential for the delineation of significant tonnages of open pittable, high grade gold and copper mineralisation. Mapping and trenching undertaken in 2019 indicates the potential for up to 600m of strike length for the Zackly East Skarn.
The Zackly East Skarn host unit (originally a limestone) was emplaced via thrust faulting and sits in the hanging wall (above the thrust fault). The Main Skarn lies below the thrust fault in the footwall. The deformation and thrusting pre-dates mineralisation. Both skarns were formed when mineralised fluids derived from a deeper porphyry source travelled up the fault system and reacted with the limestones to form copper, gold and silver mineralised skarns.
Mars Porphyry Cu-Au-Mo Deposit
The Mars target comprises an aeromagnetic anomaly with an associated Cu-Au-Mo-As soil anomaly which extends over an area covering 2.0 x 1.5km.
- Assays from infill soil and rock-chip sampling at the Mars prospect confirm anomalous copper, gold, arsenic and molybdenum over an area measuring 2km x 1.5km.
- These geochemical anomalies directly coincide with an IP anomaly modelled at depths of 100-150m below surface.
- The geochemical anomalies are associated with a cluster of hi-resolution magnetic highs interpreted to represent intrusive centres.
- Rock-chip sampling has identified some exceptionally high-grade outcrops of mineralised veins and breccias, with peak values of >50% copper and 6.9g/t gold.
- These coincident results are entirely consistent with the presence of a buried, mineralised Cu-Au deposit and fully validate Mars as a very high priority drill-target.
- Mars occurs at the critical intersection of a major terrane boundary and the 12km-long WNW corridor which hosts the Zackly Skarn and Zackly SE porphyry target.
A single angled drill hole to a final down-hole depth of 417m has been drilled into the Mars target by PolarX.
Key observations to date are:
- Mineralised porphyry-style veins occur from within 6m of the surface to the end of the hole at 417m down-hole depth.
- Six phases of veining have been identified, four of which contain copper mineralisation and two of these also contain molybdenum.
- The mineralisation intensity increases with down-hole depth, but quite noticeably increases from 321m to the end of the hole (417m).
- Alteration minerals show an abrupt change from chlorite-dominated to gypsum-dominated across a fault zone which marks the start of the strongly mineralised lower part of the hole. This indicates that the more intense mineralisation is associated with strongly oxidised fluids which precipitated anhydrite (subsequently hydrated to gypsum).
- The lack of felsic intrusive rocks in the mineralised intersections suggest this is not in the hottest core of the system where the highest grades are often located.
Further drilling is required to determine the extent of the mineralisation and to find the location of the potentially higher-grade core of the system.
Mineralised intersections in drill hole 19MAR001:
From (m) | To (m) | Down-hole Interval (m)* | Cu % | Au g/t | Mo ppm |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
175.96 | 177.96 | 2.0 | 0.24% | 0.05 | 11 |
263.86 | 265.86 | 2.0 | 0.24% | 0.05 | 11 |
308.02 | 410.09 | 102.07 | 0.22% | 0.07 | 20 |
incl 322.02 | 329.02 | 7.00 | 0.32% | 0.10 | 6 |
and 347.86 | 384.09 | 36.23 | 0.26% | 0.08 | 43 |
incl 355.85 | 384.09 | 28.24 | 0.28% | 0.09 | 52 |
and 365.91 | 384.09 | 18.18 | 0.30% | 0.09 | 24 |
Thickness of mineralisation reported is down-hole thickness. There is insufficient interpretation of the mineralisation to confidently report “true widths”.
Saturn Porphyry Target
The Saturn target comprises a blind magnetic anomaly which is buried under transported cover. The target area lies approximately 3km to the ESE of the high-grade Cu-Au skarn mineralisation at Zackly with a number of exploration vectors such as grade, thickness and intensity of alteration increasing from west to east at Zackly, heading towards the magnetic anomaly at Saturn.
A program of induced polarisation ground geophysics (IP survey) was undertaken in July 2019 to collect data along several profiles. The survey identified areas of anomalous chargeability on all sections.
Key observations were as follows:
- The Saturn target is covered by a thick layer of post mineral unconsolidated gravels which range from 76.5m vertical thickness in drill hole 19SAT005 to approximately 225m in 19SAT001. This considerably slowed drilling progress.
- Holes 19SAT001 and 19SAT002 intersected zones of intense clay alteration immediately below the gravels, with down hole thickness of clay of approximately 35m in 19SAT002 and 100m in 19SAT001.
- Spectral analysis of the clays indicates the presence of kaolinite and smectites (interpreted to represent low-temperature hydrothermal argillic alteration) locally overprinting structural zones with relict sericite and chlorite alteration in altered volcanic rocks (initially interpreted as relict zones of phyllic alteration).
- Both holes then passed into non-magnetic epidote-chlorite-carbonate altered andesites (interpreted as propylitic alteration).
- Hole 19SAT005 targeted a non-magnetic chargeability high to the west of holes 19SAT001 and 19SAT002 and intersected propylitically altered andesites below the cover sequence.
- Interpretation of this cross section suggests a possible deep porphyry source below and to the south and/or east of the current drilling.
A gravity survey over the Saturn prospect was completed in late-September 2019 over an area of approximately 10km2. The data highlights a significant gravity low to the immediate south of the drilling that coincides with a prominent magnetic high within the broader Saturn target.
The data are consistent with an intrusive centre where the gravity low is associated with a magnetic high, and where the intense clay alteration in 19SAT001 and 19SAT002 is consistent with the northern edge of a porphyry system. Further drilling is required to validate this target.
Jupiter Prospect
Is hosted in altered volcanic rocks near a contact with dioritic intrusive rocks. The prospect, which is located approximately 1.8km north of the main Zackly skarn, is characterized by east and northerly-trending, altered, Cu/Au-bearing fracture/vein zones. Soil sampling has defined a +420 ppm copper anomaly measuring approximately 800m x 1.9km. Anomalous gold-in-soil values are commonly associated with elevated copper values with assays up to 0.330 ppm Au.
Gemini Prospect
Located approximately 5.2km north of Zackly, appears to be hosted primarily within volcanic rocks. This newly discovered prospect was defined in August of 2013, the result of a wide-spaced, property-wide soil sampling program. The Gemini +420 ppm copper-in-soil anomaly, while variable in outline, averages approximately 1.0 km x 1.6 km. Anomalous old-in-soil results tend to occur coincident with elevated copper values with gold assays typically ranging from 0.150 – 0.250 ppm Au.
Moonwalk Prospect
Located approximately 11.5km north of Zackly, Moonwalk is a gold prospect consisting of altered granodiorite intruding mainly black shale. The intrusive rock and surrounding sediments are commonly altered with local zones of stockwork quartz-sulphide veining.