Impact Minerals webinar review: Broken Hill and Dora East exploration update
Impact Minerals Limited (ASX: IPT) presented a webinar featuring Managing Director Mike Jones, who outlined the company’s exploration work in the Broken Hill region of New South Wales.
The presentation focused on the company’s geological model for exploring copper and polymetallic mineralisation at depth, with references to the Broken Hill ore body, the BHP Explore programme, and results from the Dora East prospect.
Broken Hill exploration context
Jones described Broken Hill as one of the world’s great mining districts and noted its long production history in silver, lead and zinc. He said the district has seen extensive exploration over many decades, yet relatively few additional large-scale deposits have been discovered.
A central theme of the presentation was whether further mineralisation may exist at depth or within structures that have not been fully tested by historical exploration.
BHP Explore programme
Jones said Impact Minerals was one of the first companies to participate in BHP’s Explore programme. He stated that BHP provided a US$500,000 grant, which the company spent over a six- to eight-month period, and that the work completed under that program has informed subsequent exploration.
Geological model
The webinar outlined a geological model developed with input from Tony Crawford, a professor from the University of Tasmania, and others. The model considers the potential role of mafic sills and intrusions within the Broken Hill sequence and whether they may have contributed metals to the broader mineral system.
Jones said the company is using:
- stratigraphic interpretation
- structural geology
- alteration mapping
- handheld XRF measurements
These tools are being used to help identify target zones and understand folding, orientation and alteration patterns.
Dora East results
Jones discussed drilling at the Dora East prospect, where the company intersected:
- 15 metres at 3.5% zinc, 10 g/t silver, including
- 1.5 metres at 22% zinc, 66 g/t silver and 3.6% lead
He also referred to a separate copper intersection of:
- 8.7 metres at 2.5% copper and 22 g/t silver
According to Jones, handheld XRF work helped the company interpret the structure as a tightly folded syncline, which in turn assisted with planning for further drilling.
Alteration and target interpretation
The presentation also covered iron-manganese ratios and manganese halos interpreted from XRF data. Jones said these features may wrap around the fold structure and indicate a larger target at depth.
He compared the scale of Dora East with the Broken Hill ore body and said the company has a drill program planned to investigate the target further.
Key takeaways
This webinar was primarily a technical exploration update. The main points were:
- Broken Hill remains the company’s key exploration focus
- Impact Minerals is testing a model involving mafic intrusions and structural repetition
- Dora East has delivered high-grade zinc, silver, lead and copper intersections
- The company is using geological and geochemical tools to refine deeper drill targets
Disclaimer
This article is based on the webinar transcript provided and is for general information only. It does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs and is not investment advice.