Thor commences geophysics at Alford West project

Highlights

• An ambient noise tomography (ANT) survey is underway at the Alford West copper-gold project using ExoSphere by Fleet Space.
• Lightweight battery-powered sensors measure naturally occurring seismic vibrations to detect variations in density of the underlying rock units. Subsequent drilling can then be focused on areas with low-density contrast which have been shown to host oxidised copper mineralisation amenable to potential in-situ copper recovery (ISCR).
• The use of the ExoSphere technology has the potential to significantly improve exploration efficiency in both time and cost, and lead to improved drill targeting. This will result in fewer drillholes, lower environmental impact and reduced time on the land.
• This innovative geophysical survey technique is partially funded (up to AUS$30 000) by the South Australian government Accelerated Discovery Grant awarded to ECL.
• Survey results are anticipated in late March 2023.

Nicole Galloway Warland, Managing Director of Thor Energy, commented: “We are pleased to announce the commencement of this low-impact ANT geophysics survey over the Alford West copper-gold project.”

“This survey aims to create detailed subsurface maps which will assist targeting areas of potential oxide copper mineralisation within the Alford Copper Belt, hence reducing and focusing further drilling programmes.

“The use of the ExoSphere technology has enabled us to be more efficient in our exploration and we will start to see those benefits come to fruition in the upcoming months.”

Geophysics Survey

The ExoSphere program by Fleet Space consists of laying an array of 40 light-weight, battery-powered surface sensors called geodes over a paddock of 0.45 km² to measure naturally occurring environmental seismic vibrations in the ground (caused by ocean waves, weather and traffic) in real time over a 10-day period. The geodes collect and deliver information in near real time to Fleet Space's satellite network.

The survey will compare and integrate the subsurface ANT results with information that has been historically gathered by traditional air core and diamond drilling methods. This will result in focusing drilling in areas with potential for oxide copper-gold mineralisation. To date, all copper-oxide copper mineralisation discovered on the Yorke Peninsula has been associated with rocks that are significantly less dense than the surrounding fresh units.

ECL anticipate survey results in late March 2023.

Read the article online at: https://www.globalminingreview.com/exploration-development/02032023/thor-commences-geophysics-at-alford-west-project/