URL: https://geoscience.data.qld.gov.au/dataset/cr121957
In August of 2017, Pursuit Minerals Limited (Pursuit), through its wholly owned subsidiary company, NorthernX Pty Ltd, acquired EPM’s 8937 and 8454, which combined comprise the Punjaub Project, from Teck Australia Pty Ltd (Teck).
Prior to Pursuit acquiring the Punjaub Project, Teck had been exploring the Punjaub Project since entering into an option and joint venture agreement with Anglo American Exploration Australia Pty Ltd (AAEA) in 2007. The primary exploration target sought previously by AAEA and Teck was sediment-hosted, Zn-Pb-Ag massive sulphide mineralisation hosted within the Riversleigh Super sequence of the Upper McNamara Group. Pursuit is continuing the search for world-class sedimentary hosted Zn-Pb-Ag, of the ‘Century’ Style, within the Bluebush Second Order Sub-Basin.
From 2007 numerous geophysical, geochemical and drilling programs were completed by Teck as operator, resulting in Teck earning a ~65% interest in the project. In 2015 Teck made a decision to farm-out the project due to constrained exploration budgets within Teck at that time.
In 2016 to simply the ownership structure of the project and make it more attractive for potential farm-in partners AAEA and Teck agreed to an arrangement whereby Teck would control a 100% interest in the licences.
As a result of the decision by Teck to divest the Punjaub Project, Teck did not undertake any field based exploration activities (geophysical or geochemical surveys, drilling) during the period 12 November 2012 until August 2017, when the sale of the project to Pursuit Minerals was completed.
Following acquisition of the Project from Teck in August 2017, Pursuit immediately commenced a drilling program. Five mud rotary/diamond drill holes, for 1482.2m, were completed between 22 August 2017 and 8 October 2017. This drilling identified that the north-western quadrant of EPM8937, particularly along the Boga Fault Zone, contained higher grade zinc and lead mineralisation that the approximately 1% zinc mineralisation which occurs widely across the Bluebush Sub-Basin. Follow up drilling in the north-west quadrant of EOM8937 was undertaken by Pursuit in 2018. Between May and June 2018 four holes were drilled for a total of 1669.5m, following up the encouraging results from the 2017 drilling program completed by Pursuit. These four holes were predominantly targeted on a combination of fault structural settings associated with gravity anomalies. The exploration rationale being that the gravity anomalies could represent accumulations of zinc sulphides in favourable structural settings for SEDEX style deposits.
The drilling completed in 2018 intersected very thick (49-89m) sequences of sulphide mineralisation in drill holes BB06-18, BB07-18 and BB09-18. These holes are in close proximity to the Boga Fault Zone and confirm this fault was important in the concentration and focussing of mineralisation within the Bluebush second order sub-basin. Furthermore, the best grade zinc+lead mineralisation is either contained within the Boga Fault Zone or in very close proximity to the fault. The gravity anomalies within the north-west quadrant of the Bluebush Project area are predominantly explained by thick accumulations of disseminated, semi-massive and massive, fine grained pyrite with variable sphalerite and galena mineralisation.
While third order sub-basins in the north-west quadrant of the Bluebush second order sub-basin where confirmed as containing higher grade zinc mineralisation than occurs in the remainder of the Bluebush second order sub-basin, no intersections of zinc mineralisation with the potential to be economic were located by Pursuit during its drilling programs in 2017 and 2018. These two drilling programs were completed within EPM8937 and Pursuit did not undertake any drilling within EPM8454.
In August of 2019, Pursuit completed an audit of all drill historical drill holes on the Bluebush Project. All historical drill hole locations were visited, and photographs taken of each drill hole location. Consequently, has a complete inventory of the status of the rehabilitation of every historical drill hole and drill access tracks within EPM8454.
A total of three (3) sub-blocks were submitted for relinquishment within EPM8454 in order to comply with the Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy (DNRME) policy of the progressive reduction of tenure. Within the 3 sub-blocks relinquished, Pursuit has not completed any mineral exploration during the time period of its ownership of EPM8454 (August 2017 until the date of this report). Previous holders of EPM8454 also did not complete any drilling within the three (3) sub-blocks being relinquished and therefore there is no significant exploration data to discuss in relation to the three (3) sub-blocks being relinquished