Argonaut Resources has commenced drilling at the giant Torrens copper-gold anomaly at Lake Torrens in South Australia.

Heli-portable drilling commences at the Torrens exploration site.

The Torrens anomaly is an extensive series of gravity and magnetic targets located approximately 40 kilometres northeast of Oak Dam West copper discovery, announced by BHP in November 2018. There are 28 distinct target zones within the broader Torrens anomaly, with a footprint larger than Olympic Dam. The Torrens Joint Venture has committed to an initial 8-10 hole, AU$5M program which is part of an extensive 25-30 hole, AU$15M program.

Argonaut CEO, Lindsay Owler said that the commencement of drilling at Torrens is a huge milestone for Argonaut.

“Argonaut’s subsidiary, Kelaray, was first granted the Torrens licence in 1998. The company resolutely pursued access approvals to this remarkable copper target in difficult circumstances over many years. Our supportive shareholders can enjoy this moment as much as the directors and management.”

Drilling of the Torrens anomaly by Western Mining Corporation in the late 1970s and by the Torrens Joint Venture in 2007 and 2008 confirmed the existence of a major iron oxide copper-gold mineralising system beneath several hundred metres of sedimentary cover.

A heli-portable drilling rig capable of drilling deep, cored holes in remote locations has commenced drilling from custom-made pontoons, designed to protect the salt crust and anchor the drilling rig. Holes will be drilled to depths of between 800 and 1,500m into dense, iron-rich rocks, interpreted to contained copper and gold mineralisation.

The program is targeting geophysical anomalies that have the properties of the Oak Dam West, Olympic Dam and Carrapateena copper deposits.

More drilling is required to intercept the modelled copper-gold mineralisation. In the event of a discovery, Torrens has
the potential to host a world-class copper-gold deposit.

The Torrens Joint Venture is between Argonaut Resources and Aeris Resources is exploring for iron oxide-copper-gold systems in the highly prospective Stuart Shelf region of South Australia. The Torrens Project is located near the eastern margin of South Australia’s Gawler Craton (Stuart Shelf), within 40 kilometres of BHP’s Oak Dam West copper discovery, 50 kilometres of Oz Minerals’ Carrapateena copper-gold deposit and 75 kilometres from BHP Billiton’s Olympic Dam mine.

In its role as manager of the joint venture, Argonaut’s wholly owned subsidiary, Kelaray, secured access to the tenement in difficult circumstances for a planned drilling program targeting areas which have been geophysically modelled as having the physical properties of large iron oxide-copper-gold deposits. In September 2018, Argonaut’s partner, Aeris Resources, took over as manager of the joint venture.

Source: www.argonautresources.com