Diamond drilling by West Cobar Metals has confirmed a thick zone of antimony-copper mineralisation at its wholly-owned Bulla Park project in New South Wales.

Structural control from a major west-south-west trending fault has given the company further confidence in the large mineralised system, supporting previous results of 33 metres at 0.47% copper and 0.15% antimony from up to 262m depth.

The company has additional drilling planned to enable a maiden antimony-copper mineral resource estimate for the project.

Broad intercepts

One of the latest diamond holes returned grades of up to 1m at 1.04% copper and 0.55% antimony from between 204m and 205m, while other broad intercepts included 190m at 0.23% copper and 0.08% antimony from 128m.

Highlights from the same hole were 66m at 0.34% copper, 0.13% antimony and 7 grams per tonne silver from 200m and 4m at 0.44% copper, 0.20% antimony, and 7g/t silver from 131m.

Gravity and aeromagnetic surveys have indicated potential mineralisation along at least 1.8km of strike, 350m of horizontal width and drill thicknesses of approximately 60m.

Improved outlook

West Cobar managing director Matt Szwedzicki said global commodity prices had improved the outlook for Bulla Park.

“This project is shaping up to have the potential to host a major copper-antimony-silver deposit,” he said.

“The antimony content is exceptional and with the metal’s price trading at nearly 2.5 times the price of copper, we believe it is a good time to have drilled through a major intercept of antimony mineralisation.”

Lead-silver assays

West Cobar also reported stratabound lead-silver intersections at Bulla Park, south of the inferred south-west-trending fault.

The best assays were 22m at 1% lead and 20g/t silver from 253m, along with 16m at 0.97% lead and 15g/t silver from 274m.

These are believed to be indicative of favourable sedimentary depositional conditions and available mineralising fluids for a stratiform zinc-lead-silver deposit.

Critical mineral

Antimony is designated a critical mineral in many countries and is used in military applications, solar cells, fire retardants and as a strengthening agent in alloy production.

China currently supplies 56% of global antimony production and has imposed restrictions on exports of the mineral, claiming that its strategic reserves are too low.

This move has caused the price of antimony to increase significantly to approximately US$22,700/t as US and European users seek to secure supply.