Syndicated Metals delivers initial JORC Resource for Blue Star and Green Zone copper deposits

Syndicated Metals (ASX: SMD) has achieved maiden JORC Resource estimates at the Blue Star and Green Zone deposits within its Mount Remarkable Project in Northwest Queensland, based on early stage drilling.

Blue Star's Inferred Resource is 177,000 tonnes at 2.31% copper and 0.27 grams per tonne (g/t) gold at a 0.5% copper cut-off containing an estimated 4,100 tonnes of copper and 1,520 ounces of gold.

While Green Zone's Inferred Resource is 430,000 tonnes at 0.9% copper at a 0.5% copper cut-off containing an estimated 3,860 tonnes of copper.

Independent consultancy Runge Limited provided the resource estimate for each deposit, which are complementary to existing Barbara copper-gold deposits with potential to provide additional shallow open pit ore sources.

The Barbara resource is advancing towards production and is located within 60 kilometres of existing infrastructure at the Mount Isa mining centre. The Indicated and Inferred JORC Resource for the Barbara copper-gold deposit is 5.33 million tonnes at 1.4% copper, 0.1g/t gold and 2.5g/t silver.

Significantly, with near surface copper-gold at the nearby Kalman (molybdenum-rhenium-copper-gold) deposit also considered likely to complement the existing resources at Barbara, there is strong potential for early mine development.

Importantly, both deposits are open at depth with Blue Star prioritised for additional drilling to test for extensions of high grade shoots along strike and at depth.

Syndicated controls tenements covering an area of over 4,000 square kilometres in the Mount Isa region. Blue Star and Green Zone are both located within the Leichhardt Joint Venture tenements with Mount Isa Metals (ASX: MET) where Syndicated holds 51% and management.

The company plans to recommence drilling at Kalman to test for shallow open pittable sulphide copper resources plus at other targets at Kalman and Mount Remarkable.

The Blue Star deposit is located about 45 kilometres east of Mount Isa and 20 kilometres south of Syndicated’s Barbara copper-gold deposit.

The deposit has been drilled over a strike length of 200 metres and to a depth of 160 metres. It is oxidised to a shallow depth (about 20 metres below surface) and is open at depth and along strike to the south.

The Green Zone copper deposit is located about 500 metres to the west of the Barbara copper-gold deposit (5.3 million tonnes at 1.4% copper) and about 50 kilometres to the northeast of Mount Isa.

Green Zone has been drilled over a strike length of about 500 metres and to a maximum depth of about 100 metres. The deposit is oxidised to a shallow depth (15 metres below surface) and is open at depth and along strike to the south.

Both deposits will be incorporated into ongoing in-house mining studies being undertaken on Syndicated’s Mount Remarkable and Kalman deposits.

Exploration and development activities are ongoing on Syndicated’s Mount Isa projects with the 2011 drilling campaign set to recommence at Kalman and at a pipeline of new copper-gold drill targets outlined at Andy’s Hill (Kalman) and at promising targets at Yamamilla, Ironbark and Bloodwood (Mount Remarkable).

Korea Zinc Company Ltd, through its Australian subsidiaries holds a 13% interest in Syndicated.

Originally published at: http://www.proactiveinvestors.com.au/companies/news/21071/syndicated-metals-delivers-initial-jorc-resource-for-blue-star-and-green-zone-copper-deposits--21071.html