Ironbark Zinc returns 3.7m at 11.5% zinc at Citronen Project in Greenland

Ironbark Zinc's (ASX: IBG) drilling at Citronen base metal project in Greenland has turned up trumps, identifying a continuous high grade zone of continuous mineralisation from latest drilling that extends for about 1 kilometre. 

Drilling has confirmed the geological interpretation of the high grade zone.  Ironbark's largest (30.5%) shareholder Nyrstar N.V, which is one of the world's largest zinc metal producers, would surely have been buoyed by the latest results.

Drilling has also returned the highest grade intercept to date at the Esrum zone of 3.7 metres grading 11.5% zinc + lead and is likely to boost both the grade and the confidence category according to the JORC Code.

Previously resources in this area were spaced up to 400 metres apart and the continuity of high material was uncertain. Mineralisation that is able to be classified as Indicated Resources may be optimised as reserves and included in the mine plan for Esrum.

Importantly the extent of the Esrum high grade zone has not been identified at this stage.

Drilling has now been completed for 2011 at Citronen and was primarily aimed at resource definition and infill drilling at the Esrum zone in conjunction with extensional drilling around areas of higher-grade mineralisation at the Beach zone.

This activity is targeting the conversion of further resources currently in the Inferred category into Indicated or Measured categories (as classified by the JORC Code 2004).

This conversion is expected to allow further resources to be included in the mine optimisation work and allow inclusion in the mine schedule.

Unlike the Beach Zone which is earmarked for initial optimisation and is predominantly classified as Indicated and Measured resource category, a significant portion of Esrum was in the Inferred category.

A new exploration camp has been established at the the company’s 100% Washington Land project where drilling has commenced at the Cass Prospect.

Drilling will continue into late 2011. This will be the first exploration follow-up from the limited work conducted by Rio Tinto Exploration at Washington Land in 1999.

The Cass Prospect was identified in 1999, in a joint venture targeting Mississippi Valley Type (MVT) base metal mineralisation between Platinova AS and Rio Tinto Mining and Exploration Inc., a subsidiary of London based Rio Tinto PLC (LON: RIO, NYSE: RIO, ASX: RIO).

The Cass prospect is situated in the Franklinian Basin geological unit which is also the host of the Citronen project. The mineralisation is considered to be contemporaneous with the Polaris and Nanisivik historic high lead and zinc mines located in Baffin Land, Canada.

Mineralisation at the Cass Prospect occurs within a mineralised structure with an observed strike length of about four kilometres. The structure may be mineralised over a longer length which will be tested in 2011.

Continuous historic rock chip composite samples returned:

- 25 metres returned an average grading 8.9% zinc, 11.1% lead and 95 g/t silver and a second continuous rock chip composite sample taken 550m along strike to the east returned; and
- 25 metre at an average grade of 3.7% zinc, 7% lead and 40 g/t silver.

A single diamond drill hole yielded 1.2 metres at 8.4% zinc, 0.04% lead and 94 g/t silver. Rio Tinto withdrew from the joint venture following the drilling in 1999 at a period of very low zinc and lead prices.

The drill hole is regarded as not necessarily intercepting the main target and will be followed up in 2011.

Citronen currently hosts in excess of 11 Billion pounds of zinc and lead. The current JORC Resource for Citronen is 59.9 million tonnes at 5.9% zinc  plus lead.

The Citronen Zinc Project possesses one of the world's largest undeveloped zinc resources.

The mineralisation starts from surface, is shallow, flat lying and adjacent to a deep water fjord that could conceivably provide near mine ship docking and loading potential.

Originally published at: http://www.proactiveinvestors.com.au/companies/news/19063/ironbark-zinc-returns-37m-at-115-zinc-at-citronen-project-in-greenland-19063.html