Nightflower
Background
Axiom Mining Limited has entered into an Option to Purchase Agreement to explore the Nightflower Project tenements in the mineral endowed Chillagoe area of NQ. The project area lies 35km north of Chillagoe and 150km directly west of the port of Cairns (Figure 1).
Two Exploration Permits for Minerals (EPM), with a total land area of 361 sq km, strategically cover a number of known base metals and precious metals deposits, including the Nightflower (Digger Lode) prospect. Modelling of the local deposits and mines is leading to the generation of a suite of exciting new exploration targets, not only in the Nightflower tenements but also in the surrounding region held under Axiom's adjoining OK Mines tenements.
The Nightflower tenements are contiguous with Kagara Zinc's Mungana-Red Dome holdings. The Mungana base metals are a precious metals deposit, located only 30 km from Nightflower and is due to be developed in April 2008 at a cost of approximately $80M. Chillagoe is undergoing a resource boom with extensive infrastructure development occurring due to the imminent opening of both the Mungana and King Vol mines.
Mining and Exploration History
Exploration to date at Nightflower has focussed on the Digger Lode, which is hosted within the 4 km long mineralized Nightflower Fault. The Digger Lode was mined in the 1920's for high grade lead-silver ore. Sufficient drill testing has been done (16 diamond and several percussion holes) to provide a wealth of data on the Digger Lode and its host structure, the Nightflower Fault. Many of the Digger Lode metallogenic characteristics are comparable with Kagara's Mungana and King Vol deposits. A geologically interpreted body of approximately 200,000t has been previously reported for the Digger Lode and forms the basis for justifying a JORC Code upgrade.
Project Area Geology
The project area is underlain by part of the northern Permo-Carboniferous Featherbed Cauldron and the Siluro-Devonian Hodgkinson Formation and Kitoba Member basement. The host Nightflower Dacite is a thin volcanic unit in the Nightflower Caldera directly above the basement of Hodgkinson Formation. Depth to basement is interpreted to be as little as 100m. The known polymetallic deposits are adjacent to or associated with felsic intrusive centres. A key feature of the company's modelling is the targeting of buried deposits where favourable reactive and replaceable lithologies exist.
Exploration Potential
The Digger Lode has been drill tested only to a depth of 120m. It contains high grades of zinc (2.4%), lead (6%), silver (217 g/t) and gold (approx. 1 g/t). The best historic intercept is 6.8m true width of 5.1% Pb, 4.0% Zn and 6.2 oz/t Ag in hole 11 drilled by Hastings Exploration in 1973. Additional resource potential is evident from recent outcrop sampling and mapping that has returned up to 17 g/t Au in silicified breccias proximal to the base metal lode deposit.
Several lodes of similar metal composition to the Digger Lode are known from the percussion scout drilling or mapping along the Nightflower Fault. They have not yet been sufficiently drilled to confirm continuity, grade or size. The Nightflower Fault is known to be mineralized over a strike of 3km with surface lode samples grading up to 38.5% Pb and 48.2 oz/t Ag over a width of 1.4m. IP anomalies open at depth are also yet to be drill tested.
The Nightflower, as well as other faults within the tenements are prospective for Red Dome-Mungana style polymetallic deposits. Recent deep drilling by Kagara Zinc at Mungana has intersected the depth extensions of the large porphyry gold-copper deposit, which is now being developed. Numerous other targets have been identified or interpreted in the structurally complex geological framework of the Nightflower tenements, which show strong similarities to the highly prospective Red Dome–Mungana system.
Planned 2008 Exploration
An exploration program budgeted at $750,000 will be undertaken. The work program is based on the wealth of data accumulated to date both on the metal-rich Digger Lode, and elsewhere in the tenements. The program will include geological mapping, geochemical sampling, IP geophysical surveys and drilling of a minimum of six diamond drill holes due to commence by the end of April.
Applications for Queensland Government Collaborative Drilling Initiative and Industry Network Initiative grants were both successful.
JORC Compliant Status
In the first instance the Digger Lode will be brought up to JORC compliance, such that Axiom can conduct preliminary feasibility studies. Three holes will also be drilled to explore down-plunge for deeper gold-copper porphyry systems. It is notable that a large porphyry system containing gold and copper is associated with the Mungana zinc-lead-silver deposit. The presence of up to 47ppm mercury at Nightflower lends further support for the presence of a porphyry gold-copper system adjacent to the Nightflower Fault.
In summary it is planned to:-
1. Rapidly upgrade the Digger Lode Ag+Pb+Zn+Au deposit (bonanza silver grades) to a JORC compliant resource, and drill for deposit extensions at depths beyond 120m.
2. Explore the full strike extent of the Nightflower Fault, which is highly prospective for other "Digger Lode" type deposits. Several targets have already been identified in historic drilling and from IP surveys that could augment resources developed on the existing Digger Lode.
3. Follow up other structurally controlled targets within the Nightflower regional tenements.
Figure 1 - Location Map of Nightflower Tenements in relation to Axiom's other tenements in the region. Also shown are the Kagara tenements and the principal mineral deposits/prospects of the two companies.