BCH002 expands copper system at Copperhead

RNS Number : 4184W

Rockfire Resources PLC

22 December 2021

 

22 December 2021

Rockfire Resources plc

("Rockfire" or the "Company")

BCH002 expands copper system at Copperhead

Rockfire Resources plc (LON: ROCK), the gold and base metal exploration company, is pleased to provide an update on its diamond drilling programme at the Company's 100%-owned Copperhead porphyry project ("Copperhead") in North Queensland, Australia. Assay results for the second diamond drill hole are now available.

Highlights:

· Hole BCH002 is mineralised with visible copper veins for most of its length, with two distinct zones identified in the hole.

· The length of the drill hole has returned 357 m grading 0.11 % CuEq., with the drill hole finishing with visible copper in veins.

· Within this broad zone, an upper interval of 48 m @ 0.21 % CuEq. occurs from 139 m downhole depth and a second interval of 32 m @ 0.20 % CuEq. exists from 236 m downhole depth.

· A peak assay of 1.06 % CuEq. was encountered.

· This second drill hole expands copper mineralisation 150 m towards the east and 150 m towards the south of hole BCH001, thereby increasing the footprint of the drilled area significantly.

· Similar to hole BCH001, alteration and visible copper mineralisation in this hole suggests that our drilling is occurring in the upper, "Phyllic" levels of a large porphyry copper system.

· Drill core from hole BCH004 is now at the laboratory and assay results are pending. Hole BCH004 was drilled as an exploratory hole to the west of a regional fault to determine if copper mineralisation can be found on the western side of this bounding fault.

· The Company is awaiting assay results from holes BCH003 and BCH004, with BCH005 expected to be submitted for analysis shortly.

· Weather conditions have prevented the drill rig moving to Plateau prior to the Christmas/New Year period, but management remains confident that this drilling will commence early in the New Year.

A plan showing the location of drill holes BCH001 and BCH002 can be viewed by clicking on the following link: http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/4184W_1-2021-12-21.pdf

David Price, Chief Executive Officer of Rockfire, comments:

"This drillhole continues to build our confidence in the potential for the discovery of a large-scale copper deposit. Although grade remains relatively low, the system continues to expand with each hole drilled. BCH002 was drilled towards the south - the opposite direction to hole BCH001. This direction was chosen to confirm that drilling to the north-northeast is appropriate and the structures measured in hole BCH002 confirm the original drilling direction is optimum.

"The visual indications of copper being present in hole BCH002 were not as prolific as the visible veins in hole BCH001. The continuation of grade over 350 m drilled length was greater than expected from observations. This may indicate fine-grained sulphides which are not easily recognised in veins or disseminations.

"Hole BCH002 remains in the high-level, quartz-sericite-pyrite ("Phyllic") alteration zone, sitting above a potential main porphyry source.

"The Company is awaiting assay results from holes BCH003 and BCH004, which are both awaiting analysis at the laboratory. BCH005 is nearing the completion of geotechnical and geological logging and will be submitted within the next week. We look forward to providing the market with updated results as they are received from the laboratory."

Hole ID	UTM E	UTM N	Zone	RL (m)	Azi (mag)	Dip (°)	EOH (m)
BCH001	635530	7728209	55	458	32	-55	501.40
BCH002	635676	7728209	55	482	212	-55	359.00
BCH003	635676	7728209	55	482	32	-55	428.90
BCH004	635473	7728208	55	449	22	-60	384.00
BCH005	635619	7728040	55	455	42	-70	468.00

Copper Equivalent (CuEq) values have been calculated using the following methodology:

Owing to a lack of metallurgical test work at Copperhead, the processing metallurgical recoveries are unknown. Future work will include metallurgical testing to provide information on expected metallurgical recovery.

Copper equivalent metal prices as of 16 December 2021
	A	B		C
	Grade (ppm)	Metal Price (US$)	B Unit	Factor	C Unit
1	Cu	9285.00	US$/t	1000000	ppm/t
2	Mo	18.59	US$/lb	454	ppm/lb
3	Ag	22.14	US$/oz	31.10348	ppm/t
	Copper equivalent formula
	Cu Eq = (1A x 1B/1C + 2A x 2B/2C + 3A x 3B/3C) / 1B x 1C

Qualified Person Statement:

Information in this announcement that relates to exploration results is based on information compiled by Mr Edward Fry, the Exploration Manager of Rockfire Resources plc, who is a Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (MAusIMM). Mr Fry has sufficient experience relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which has been undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined by the 2012 Edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (the JORC Code) and a "Qualified Person" in accordance with the AIM Rules Guidance Note for Mining and Oil & Gas Companies. Mr Fry consents to the inclusion in the announcement of the matters based on their information in the form and context in which it appears.

For further information on the Company, please visit  www.rockfireresources.com  or contact the following: 

Rockfire Resources plc:	[e-mail]
David Price, Chief Executive Officer
Allenby Capital Limited (Nominated Adviser & Broker)	Tel: [phone]
John Depasquale / George Payne (Corporate Finance) Matt Butlin / Kelly Gardner (Sales and Corporate Broking)
Yellow Jersey	[e-mail]
Sarah Hollins / Henry Wilkinson	Tel: [phone]

Notes to Editors

Rockfire Resources plc (LON: ROCK) is an exploration company with a portfolio of 100%-owned near-surface gold and large-scale copper projects in Queensland, Australia. Each of the gold projects are located within 50 km of operating gold mines and the Company's copper projects lie within 250 km of Australia's largest copper refinery.

The Company's Plateau Gold Deposit is part of the Lighthouse Tenement and bears significant geological similarities to the nearby Mt Wright gold mine (45km to the northeast), where 1.5 million ounces of gold have been mined. More than 14,000 m have been drilled within the Lighthouse tenement.

Drilling to date at the Company's copper projects, Copperhead and Copper Dome (35 km and 85 km southwest of the town of Proserpine respectively), are indicative of large-scale porphyry targets. Both projects have been drilled by previous explorers but remain under-explored, leading the Board to believe that they demonstrate significant exploration upside potential.

Rockfire Resources has adopted a strategy of growth based on advancing exploration across its existing portfolio of projects, as well as the continual assessment of opportunities to acquire outstanding strategic mineral projects worldwide.

The Company is led by a highly skilled management team, with a proven track record in exploring and discovering projects.

 

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