Multi-mineral seeking junior Augustus Minerals Ltd (ASX:AUG) has seen its share price jump by 33 percent on news of fieldwork and rock chip sampling which picked up copper grades around 18 percent, as well as significant silver assays at its Ti-Tree project in the WA Gascoyne region.
The share price rose from 3c at opening to 4c by 10:18 AEDT, following the announcement, perhaps reflecting the hotness of copper right now, with the metal surging to $4.5 per pound this month, the highest price in nearly two years.
Mapping and rock chip sampling (comprised of 26 samples) across Ti-Tree highlighted two new prospects – Tiberias and Claudius – which are located 30 kilometres from Augustus’ copper, gold and silver Copper Ridge project and contain historic workings.
Mineralisation at the Tiberias zone was reported to include a 3 metre-wide quartz-sulphide vein system extending for 200 metres along strike, containing grades of up to 17.8 percent copper and 282 grams per tonne silver.
Located 11 kilometres to the south of this, Claudius is comprised of several parallel zones over an area measuring 100 metres by 300 metres, with grades of up to 6.6 percent copper and 86 grams per tonne silver being yielded from here.
General manager of exploration Andrew Ford said the results proved that the project area – located 200 kilometres from Canarvon – was significantly prospective for copper and silver, even in relatively untouched areas.
“These results highlight the potential of this underexplored area to host as yet undiscovered mineralisation,” he said.
“Less than five percent of the 3,600 square kilometre area of the Ti-Tree project has had any previous exploration, and to discover unrecorded historic mining areas is very exciting.
“These results are a credit to the Augustus geological team.”