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Solstice Minerals Reports High-Grade Copper-Gold Intercepts in Phase 1 Drilling at Nanadie Project

Solstice Minerals (ASX: SLS) has returned multiple significant intercepts from the first five holes of a 23-hole Phase 1 reverse circulation drilling campaign at its Nanadie copper-gold project in Western Australia.

Drilling achieved good sample quality and end-of-hole (EOH) depths of more than 300 metres, with the majority of holes completed on 40m-spaced intermediate drill traverses to depths beyond previous exploration.

Assays for the first five holes in the southern part of the deposit intersected multiple wide zones of disseminated chalcopyrite mineralisation with several higher-grade areas, some of which extend to EOH.

Solstice believes the higher-grade mineralisation extends well beyond the current 40.4 million tonne mineral resource estimate (MRE) block model, demonstrating that the system is completely open at depth with potential for material expansion.

Open Along Strike and at Depth

Geological observations in the remainder of the Phase 1 drill holes indicate that the combined mineralised system is open along strike, laterally, and completely open at depth, while logging has outlined a widely mineralised host over 150m wide and at least 900m long.

Best assays were 62m at 1.55% copper and 0.66 grams per tonne gold to EOH from 256m including 22m at 2.78% copper and 1.25g/t gold from 261m, and 10m at 0.63% copper and 0.25g/t gold from 80m

Other highlights were 11m at 0.48% copper and 0.16g/t gold from 104m, 16m at 0.76% copper and 0.26g/t gold from 140m and 43m at 0.44% copper and 0.16g/t gold from 166m, as well as 97m at 0.73% copper and 0.30g/t gold to EOH from 203m including 18m at 0.87% copper and 0.26g/t gold from 89m, 11m at 0.58% copper and 0.13g/t gold from 125m and 14m at 0.42% copper and 0.12g/t gold from 178m.

Holes NANRC004 and NANRC001 in particular are strongly mineralised, respectively returning 317m at 0.51% copper and 0.19g/t gold to EOH, and 300m at 0.42% copper with 0.16g/t gold to EOH.

‘Broad Stack of Intrusive Rocks’

Chief executive officer Nick Castleden said the “extraordinary” assays represented a strong validation of the potential identified by the company’s geological team.

“This is not a typical single-zone system, but a broad stack of mineralised mafic intrusive rocks with disseminated sulphide-style copper-gold distributed over significant intervals,” he said.

“High-grade and wide intercepts ending in mineralisation show that this is a system with potential for real scale as well as substantial zones of higher-grade material outside of the existing resource estimate.”

He said a Phase 2 reverse circulation was being planned to commence on receipt of the remaining Phase 1 assays and prioritisation of drill targets.

Nanadie currently has a shallow Inferred MRE containing 162,000t of copper and 130,000oz of gold within a large granted mining lease, which Solstice believes is favourable for future bulk-tonnage mine studies and represents a substantial near-surface opportunity for exploration growth.

Source: SmallCaps