Lyons River Project
Western Australia
Lyons River is located approximately 1,100km north of Perth and approximately 220 km to the north-east of the coastal town of Carnarvon, Western Australia. The Lyons River Project lies within the Mutherbukin Zone of the Gascoyne Province, which is the deformed and high-grade metamorphic core zone of the early Proterozioc Capricorn Orogen.
Lyons River Project location diagram
Dalaroo’s Lyons River Project comprises a strategic (100% owned) land position of 838km2 within the Proterozoic Mutherbukin Zone of the Gascoyne Province, Western Australia. Lyons River is prospective for, vein/shear related gold, BHT type mineralised base metals (Pb-Zn-Ag-Cu), REE and lithium deposits.
Dalaroo Metals, Lyons River Project in the Gascoyne Province REE and lithium neighbouring companies and prospects
Gold Prospects
Goodbody Gold System Discovery at Lyons River
Highlights
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Assays from maiden air-core drill program testing gold-bearing, outcropping quartz veins has outlined gold mineralisation at the Goodbody West prospect, Lyons River Project over a strike length of at least 200m including:
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LRAC047: 5m @ 0.85g/t Au from 9m including 1m @ 1.83g/t Au from 9m and 1m @ 1.23g/t Au from 12m
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LRAC049: 1m @ 0.98g/t Au from 3m
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LRAC051: 1m @ 1.17g/t Au from 19m
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LRAC052: 19m @ 0.23g/t Au from 24m
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Gold mineralisation at Goodbody West remains open along strike and at depth.
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Higher grade rock-chip gold assay results received to date at Goodbody prospect include:
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6.25g/t Au – sample # CW1072
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5.52g/t Au – sample # LR230103_3
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1.70g/t Au – sample # LR230525_21
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There will be a strong gold exploration focus by Dalaroo during 2024 particularly at Goodbody where gold anomalism extends over a strike length of 6km, and at Turbo Well located 7km east.
Gold mineralization has been outlined in outcropping quartz veins at Goodbody within robust gold in soil anomalies with peak gold values of 132ppb Au at Goodbody West, 93ppb Au at Goodbody Central and 50ppb Au at Goodbody East. The footprint of the Goodbody prospects lies within a broader, 6km long, gold in soil anomaly at 2ppb threshold (refer DAL ASX Announcement from 26 February 2024).
Location of recent rock chip samples within the Goodbody gold prospect area and soil geochemical anomalies. Overlaid on greyscale Total Magnetic Intensity (TMI)1VD basemap imagery.
Air-core drilling
AC drilling was undertaken at the Goodbody West prospect to test the down-dip extension of surface mineralisation defined through geological mapping and surface sampling completed in 2023. This exploration work by Dalaroo has identified outcropping, WNW-trending mineralised quartz veins (up to 6.25g/t Au) over 200m strike, hosted within a metasedimentary rock package comprising pelitic schist, chert, ironstone, and BIF (refer DAL ASX Announcement from 28 November 2022). Veins at surface are typically developed parallel to foliation and locally contain ferruginous oxide phases.
A program of 19 AC holes (867m) was completed on five north-south traverses covering 300m strike, to a maximum vertical depth of 42m (Figure 2). Significant (> 0.1g/t Au) results from the program included:
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LRAC047: 5m @ 0.85g/t Au from 9m, including 1m @ 1.83g/t from 9m
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LRAC048: 21m @ 0.21g/t Au from 24m, including 1m @ 0.55g/t Au from 26m
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LRAC049: 1m @ 0.98g/t from 3m
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LRAC051: 7m @ 0.36g/t Au from 17m, including 1m @ 1.17g/t Au from 19m
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LRAC052: 19m @ 0.23g/t Au from 24m
Goodbody West gold prospect and interpreted regional structures. Overlaid on aerial photography. In this figure white text refers to rock chip assay values and black text refers to soil assays values.
Drilling in the eastern part of the Goodbody West prospect, below the main area of outcropping mineralisation, intercepted several zones of sub-parallel, moderately north-dipping quartz veins, within a sequence of pelitic schist and lesser interbedded psammitic rocks. Veins are commonly emplaced within or adjacent to high-strain zones and are encouragingly associated with broad widths of silica-sericite (+/- hematite-carbonate) alteration. Veins contain variable quantities of ironstone and gossanous sulphide. Primary sulphides are not preserved at the shallow drilled depths.
Higher gold grades, up to 1.83g/t (drill-hole LRAC047) are typically associated with sulphide-bearing quartz veins. However, broad widths of anomalous mineralisation (e.g. 21m @ 0.21g/t Au in drill-hole LRAC048) may also integrate alteration zones adjacent to vein sets (Figure 3). Significant Arsenic (As)anomalism, up to 1420ppm is also associated with gold mineralisation.
Next Steps
The identification of sulphide-bearing quartz veins, in association with wide silica-sericite alteration haloes and strong Au-As anomalism from the current shallow levels of drilling are considered indicative of a significant hydrothermal system. Mineralisation remains open at depth and to the east and requires deeper drilling to assess the potential for structurally controlled high-grade zones. It is noted that surface anomalism at Goodbody West coincides with the intersection of WNW and NNE-trending structures (refer DAL ASX Announcement from 8 November 2023). Such intersection zones represent potential sites of intensified deformation and hydrothermal fluid movement and will be a priority for deeper drill targeting at Goodbody West.
Drill cross section – interpretation geology and gold intercepts.
Turbo Well gold
A new gold prospect has been defined at Turbo Well with gold-in-soil anomalism extending over a strike length of 2km, adjacent to a regional ESE structural trend (Figure 4). A peak value of 47ppb Au is defined from results of both historical soil sampling and follow-up sampling by Dalaroo during 2023 (Refer DAL ASX Announcements from 9 November 2023). Maiden drill testing will be completed over Turbo Well, as when a suitable drill rig becomes available.
Location of Goodbody prospect in relation to additional gold prospects and interpreted regional structures within Lyons River Project area. Overlaid on greyscale Total Magnetic Intensity (TMI) 1VD base map.
Drill rig at Goodbody gold prospect
Base metals prospects
Dalaroo believes the Gascoyne Province is also an emerging Broken Hill Type (“BHT”)/Sedimentary Exhalative (“SEDEX”) deposit setting.
Browns was targeted as one of six significant base metal (Pb-Zn) anomalies in soils identified across the 100% owned Lyons River project through staged systematic soil geochemical surveys. Browns represents the second site of Pb-Zn-Ag intersections discovered by bedrock drilling in the Mutherbukin Zone, 5km east of Dalaroo’s Four Corners Pb-Zn-Ag prospect. Combined, the anomalous soil base metal zones span a 30km x 10km area of Paleoproterozoic basin stratigraphy within the Mutherbukin Zone, Gascoyne Province.
Lyons River, Browns prospect and other five Pb-Zn soil geochemical prospects /targets
over greyscale 1 Vertical Derivative Aeromagnetics image.
Browns
The Browns Prospect represents the second site of Pb-Zn-Ag intersections discovered by bedrock drilling in the Mutherbukin Zone, 5km east of Dalaroo’s Four Corners Pb-Zn-Ag prospect. Two phases of AC drilling at the Browns Prospect tested a very compelling broad Pb-Zn soil and rock chip geochemical anomaly (max 1445ppm Pb, 1080ppm Zn) covering an area of 3.5km X 2.5km, associated with extensive iron-rich and high-grade gossanous material at surface with results of up to 39.6% Pb, up to 0.71% Zn and up to 82g/t Ag (Refer DAL ASX Announcement from 15 November 2022).
Detailed gravity work has complemented historical surveys by BHP and shows a coincident gravity low suggesting an area of possible deepening basin development. An interpreted sub-basin fold or trough structure at Browns may represent a deeper portion of the paleo-basin architecture and a favourable environment for formation of prospective host stratigraphy (Figure 5). (Refer DAL ASX Announcements from 25 July 2022 and 15 November 2022).
Dalaroo’s AC drill programs at Browns have been successful in intersecting zones of interbedded psammitic to pelitic lithologies together with multiple zones of disseminated base metal sulphides such as galena and sphalerite. More than 800m of strike length lead-zinc mineralisation has been outlined at Browns which remains open in all directions (Figure 5). Ag intercepts are coincident with Pb and Zn assays and further support the presence of BHT/SEDEX-style of mineralisation.
AC drilling programs have intersected thick zones of variably-pyritic, biotite-quartz gneiss, likely representing metamorphosed shales, and found to be enriched in silver, returning 63m @ 1.76g/t Ag from 16m and 16m @ 1.43g/t Ag from 68m (Figures 6) and has outlined the footprint of the Pb-Zn-Ag mineralized system at the Browns prospect to approximately 400m in thickness in its central portion. Significant Pb-Zn sulphide intercepts of 10m @ 1.04% Pb, 0.49% Zn, 2.85g/t Ag from 37m (LRAC010) Including 1m @ 3.13% Pb, 0.24% Zn, 5g/t Ag from 38m and 63m @ 1.76g/t Ag from 16m adds weight to this thesis. (Refer DAL ASX Announcement from 14 February 2023).
AC drilling undertaken highlights the prospectivity of the area and possibility of discovering a significant BHT-SEDEX-style deposit at Browns prospect. Evidence that lead-zinc-silver mineralizing fluids have circulated at the basin-wide scale five kilometres east from the already drilled Four Corners Prospect supports this theory. This leads to the conclusion there may be multiple base metal deposits at the Lyons River Project.
AC drill rig at Browns prospect
Map view of aircore drilling completed at Browns on ground gravity data basemap.
Browns prospect, simplified cross section A-B (see Figure 5) displaying selected mineralised drilling intercepts.
Copper potential
High grade copper assay results of 54.8% coupled with silver grades of 80g/t have been returned from rock chip sampling program over the expanded 3.5km X 2km Browns base metal prospect. Gossanous outcrops sampled to the east of the AC drilled area at Browns have returned lead (Pb) values of up to 0.53% complemented by anomalous zinc (1140ppm) and copper (420ppm) at the Lyons River Project (Refer DAL ASX Announcements from 31 October 2023). Copper assays of 1.64% have also been recorded from rock chip sampling previously completed at the Four Corners prospect located 5km to the west of Browns (Refer DAL ASX Announcements from 16 March 2022).
Browns prospect, Pb soil geochemical anomalies (previously reported) and Pb rock chip sample assays, high-grade copper rock chip sample location and proposed Induced Polarisation survey lines
Copper-oxide (malachite) mineralisation in surface excavation and malachite rich rock chips at Browns prospect
Outcropping copper oxide mineralisation (malachite) at Four Corners prospect
Previous historical shallow RC drill program in 2008 at Four Corners returned an intersection of 3m @ 0.50% Cu including 1m @ 0.92% Cu from 56m, with mineralisation associated chalcopyrite (Refer DAL ASX Announcements from 16 March 2022). Copper assay results from rock chip sampling both Browns and Four Corners prospects are accompanied by silver assays of 80g/t and 21.5g/t respectively.
Four Corners prospect, drill hole location map with historical RC and diamond holes, DAL’s 2021 RC drill holes and base metal results.
Rare Earth Elements (REE)
Dalaroo’s Lyons River Project is dominated by rocks of the Proterozoic Age Durlacher Suite which hosts known REE deposits and mineralisation in the Gascoyne Province, including the Yangibana, Yin/Sabre and Mick Well Projects. A detailed review by a consultant geophysicist of a range of datasets held and acquired, including detailed magnetics, radiometrics (thorium) and ASTER, have outlined 27 targets with potential for REE and carbonatites.
Lyons River Project – Marloo River and location of anomalous TREO geochemical results, and View Hill with location of samples indicating fertile pegmatite and granite areas.
Photo of REE enriched ironstone outcrop (sample DM003034 – 0.15% TREO) at Lyons River
Two significant Rare Earth Element (REE) anomalies have been outlined at View Hill and 32 Mile Well prospects. REE anomalism at View Hill with peak value of 1,043 ppm TREO (Total Rare Earth Oxides) and strike length of 2.2km coincides with large thorium high. REE anomalism at 32 Mile Well with a peak value of 2,025 ppm TREO has a strike length of more than 3km.
REE anomalies lie adjacent to a major NE-trending structural feature, compatible with relationships seen at Kingfisher Mining’s Mick Well REE discovery. Anomalies could represent hard rock or clay hosted REE mineralisation.
TREO results on radiometrics thorium/google image (note coincident large thorium and TREO anomaly at View Hill prospect).