Here are some updated sections that include all? phase 1 assay results provided for Opasura East.
View attachment 1119579
The following comments, along with many other issues, will be addressed more fully as the PEA/Scoping study is done.
Section "0" added this one which shows the NW extensions outside previously known mineralisation and consistent with PXrF rock chip samples reported.
- Open to the NW but poor to immediate SW.
- Could be a flat lying section and easy to mine but mostly UG.
- Hole 145 doesn't appear to have had anything obvious worth sampling.
Section 1
- Holes 119 and BDA10 may correlate reasonably with Section "0" though there is a hint of a dip to the NW.
- Something ?structural going on at the SE end of this section.
- AZS section in the announcement shows mineralised intersections within the Revancha Rhyolite in Hole 68.
- Couldn't find collar details for Hole 157 so drew it schematically to where the Revancha contact.
- Closed off to immediate SW
Section 2
- Hole 67 has good intersections but not supported by other drilling.
- Poor grades thicknesses to NE and SW.
- Hole 65 suggests surface mapping of the Arenillas formation may not be accurate, or zones in the Revancha.
Section 3
- Confusing intersections - more information required.
- Combining Holes 67 and 128 suggest there may be a local NW-SE zone of higher, thicker grade.
- Quite a few, generally narrow, stacked lenses.
- Basically closed to immediate SW.
Section 4
- Looks like a "juicy' high grade section between holes 111 and BDA6R.
- Exception are holes 57 and BDA 07 which may be just outside the main mineralised corridor
- Could be interpreted as rolls rather than faulting.
- Some significant stacked lenses.
- Closed off to immediate SW and NE.
Section 5
- Similar to section 4 with better grades and thickness.
- Definitely not easy to "join the dots" consistently on this section.
- Holes 13& 27 may represent a down faulted block.
- Good shallow, open pittable?, zones north east of holes 4/81.
- Hole 72 is a nice addition to previously known mineralisation and with Hole 130 extend the deposit some 70m to the NE in this area.
- Closed off to immediate SW.
Section 6
- Consistent moderate to good intersections with probably something structural happening near Hole 123 suggestive of west block up perhaps.
- Significant open pit potential at the NE end.
- Holes 87 and 131 add a similar NE extension to that observed on Section 5 and it will be interesting to see how far SE (towards Section 7/8?) this extends. Another 50-200m would be very significant IMO as it would be easy digging/open pittable.
- Shallow stacked lens in hole 75.
- Thinning and grade declining in Hole 94.
Section 7
- Similar but ?weaker and more patchy than Section 6.
- Open pit potential less than on more northerly sections. Grade and thickness not too high except hole 19. Hole 36 borderline OP??
- Hole 78 not drilled deep enough?? If terminated in Revancha Rhyolite then possibly suggests structure given intersection in 113.
- Possible geometry issues with hole projections.
- Poor continuity to SW.
Section 8
- Probable geometry issues with hole projections.
- Open pit potential.
- More drilling needed to the SW?
Section A
- Hole 84 to Hole 83 (NW-SE) rolling? contact (Revancha/Arenillas?) mineralisation with local pinching and swelling.
- As before hole 13 & 27 appear to have intersected mineralisation 20+-m deeper than surrounding holes.
- Holes 91& 21 represent a zone with no obvious mineralisation.
- North of Hole 84 grades and thickness become more irregular and at a higher RL suggestive of both structure and different mineralisation strengths.
- Grades are variable. The 4-7% Zn+Pb combined is probably balanced out by the less frequent but significantly higher grade zones to give somewhere around a 10% average. This is an observation that is probably applicable to Opasura East as a whole where IMO the combined grade will come in somewhere between 8-12%.
Phase 1 drilling has probably met and locally exceeded and failed to meet expectations IMO. Since I don't know details of AZS's expectations this is pure speculation. I suspect they were hoping for layer cake, flat lying, continuous mineralisation. Instead they have found a deposit that pinches and swells in both 3D and grade. From comments by the company this is not going to be a major issue going forward. Some areas will be easier to mine while other more difficult. Issues that are fairly normal for mine planners.
Distinct extras from the drilling are the extension to the NW that was IMO outside historical drilling and remains open to the NW. If mineable this may add up to another year's worth of production if infill drilling confirms phase 1 work.
The other ?surprise is the NE extension intersected by holes 72, 87, 130 and 131 which already define an area of some 100X70m beyond the mapped surface sulphides. At 5m average thickness and an SG of 3 this has the potential to add some 50-100Kt to a possible open pit. Even more if drilling confirms extensions to the S/SE.
View attachment 1119685
The blue line on this image roughly marks the 10 m% limit between what may be thin/low grade to waste and possible ore. A more appropriate measure will come out of the studies already underway.
At this stage it shows areas which may have been part of the Exploration resource estimate may not meet expectations. At a guess roughly 1/3rd of the known mineralisation Area probably falls into this low grade to waste category.
Nearly all the sections show mineralisation is either closed off to the "immediate" SW or is thinning and lower grade.
Overall swings and roundabouts to come up with something near expectations with perhaps a couple of sweeteners.
GLTAH
