In February 2019, Rio Tinto discovered copper-gold mineralisation at the Winu project in the Yeneena Basin of the Paterson Province in Western Australia. A significant programme of work has continued at the Winu camp since then, with 180 people now on site.
Additional data on the intercepts for the eleven diamond drill holes reflecting drilling to the end of 2018 have been released today.
“Results continue to indicate relatively wide intersections of vein style copper mineralisation associated with gold and silver beneath relatively shallow cover which ranges from 50 to 100 metres,” Rio Tinto stated. “The mineralisation remains open at depth and to the east, north, and south.”
Some changes were made to previously released assays due to ongoing quality control and assurance procedures as well as changes in analytical techniques.
The next phase of reverse circulation (RC) and diamond drilling has commenced to further define the mineralisation extents and continuity, and results are expected to be announced in the third quarter of 2019.
There are currently eight diamond rigs, three RC rigs, and a waterbore rig drilling at Winu.
Rio Tinto’s other activities at Winu include cultural heritage surveys and the commencement of construction of a gravel airstrip for emergency response purposes, given the exploration camp is located approximately 200 kilometres by gravel and sand track from the Great Northern Highway and a seven-hour drive from Port Hedland.
“While results continue to be encouraging, the exploration project is still at an early stage and drilling to date does not allow sufficient understanding of the mineralised body to assess the potential size or quality of the mineralisation nor to enable estimation of a Mineral Resource,” Rio Tinto confirmed.
Updated significant mineralised drill hole intercepts greater than 0.4 per cent copper or greater than 0.4 g/t gold:
Updated significant mineralised drill hole intercepts greater than 0.2 per cent copper or greater than 0.2 g/t gold:
The full list of results published today by Rio Tinto can be found here.