Coppermoly hits copper, gold in PNG

GOLD Coast explorer Coppermoly has commissioned consultants to assess a maiden inferred resource for its Nakru-1 strike in Papua New Guinea, where early drilling intersected extensive copper and gold mineralisation, the Gold Coast Bulletin reports.
The drillhole data review will be undertaken by Golder and Associates, which also will review data from the company’s Simuku copper-molybdenum tenement in PNG to upgrade its existing inferred resource.
The explorer had told the stock exchange it expected results in April.
News of the reviews came just days after Canadian giant Barrick Gold acquired a 72% joint-venture stake in Coppermoly’s three PNG tenements following investment of US$20 million on drilling programmes under a farm-in arrangement struck in 2009.
The tenements, Simuku and Nakru and Talumas, are on New Britain island.
Some 27 holes have been drilled at the Nakru-1 system, the most-advanced Nakru prospect, one intersecting 213m grading 0.92% copper and 0.33 grams per tonne gold.
Coppermoly said that  within the bounds of existing drillholes, its exploration target for Nakru-1 was 50-60 million tonnes at 0.7 to 0.9% copper.
It said high levels of enrichment had been found at Nakru-1, including a gold vein with 23m at 1.3% copper and 2.38g/t gold, including 1m with 4.6% copper, 42g/t gold and 2,840 parts per million tellurium, a rare mineral used in alloys, solar panels, and semiconductors.
The company said Simuku was host to an inferred resource of 200mt at 0.47% copper equivalent and the review would take account of drilling undertaken since it was announced in 2009.