Victory Metals begins Phase II of drill programme at its Iron Point Vanadium project

The phase II programme will consist of 49 holes (approximately 10 000 m) utilising two reverse circulation rigs and one diamond drill rig. These rigs have been mobilised to the project.

The programme is designed to infill zones of vanadium mineralisation defined in the company's Phase I maiden drill campaign, as well as to test lateral and downward extensions of these zones.

The programme will also provide sample material for the next phase of metallurgical test work.  The diamond drill will be utilised for approximately 10 of the 49 planned holes, and these 10 core holes will be distributed over the project area to provide representative metallurgical samples of the vanadium mineralisation.

Mine Development Associates (MDA), a highly respected resource estimation and engineering firm based in Sparks, Nevada, has designed the Phase II programme based on preliminary geostatistical analysis of the Phase I results, with the objective of ensuring the drill spacing after Phase II will be sufficient for a resource estimate predominantly in the measured and indicated category. 

Collin Kettell, CEO, stated: "Our team's rapid advancement at Iron Point continues at full steam with the commencement of our Phase II drill programme. In a span of nine months, we will have completed over 18 000 m of drilling in addition to positive preliminary metallurgical testwork. The Phase II programme will provide representative samples from throughout the zones of mineralisation, allowing us to more comprehensively define the metallurgical characteristics to support advancement of the engineering work and for economic studies."

 

Overview of Maiden Phase I drilling

In Autumn 2018, Victory Metals began an 8400 m drill programme to follow up on historical drilling completed by Newmont in 1966 and by Aur Resources in 1996. Both companies were exploring for gold but also assayed for vanadium. The vanadium results clearly demonstrated the potential for a sizeable vanadium resource. Victory's recently completed Phase I maiden drill programme included 69 reverse circulation and 4 diamond drill holes, which focused on delineating the historically identified mineralised zone, and also tested expansion potential. 

Key findings from the Phase I drill programme include: 

 

• Significantly higher vanadium concentrations than indicated from historical drilling.  Victory Metals twinning of Newmont and Aur Resources drill holes showed consistently higher vanadium concentrations. Victory believes that this can be largely attributed to the better sample recovery achieved with modern RC drilling technology.
• Discovery of the New High Grade Zone. The presence of a shallow, higher grade zone (the Upper High Grade Zone) was inferred in historical drilling at Iron Point and was the basis for Victory's initial interest of the project's resource potential. Victory's recent drilling confirmed the Upper High Grade Zone and importantly added a deeper high grade zone (the New High Grade Zone), which has yielded some of the highest-grade drill intersections to date. 
• Continuity of mineralised zones throughout the deposit. Victory drill results show relatively flat-lying mineralised zones with good correlation between holes. A high degree of continuity was not apparent from historical drilling and the company believes this significant improvement in zone correlation can be attributed to the higher sample recoveries and greater depth of drill penetration achieved in the current programme. Victory believes that the positive correlation of mineralised zones between holes considerably simplifies the interpretation of boundaries for the vanadium mineralisation, facilitating a higher degree of confidence in a future resource estimate. 
• A significant increase in the overall mineralized footprint. The mineralised zone laid out from historical drilling showed an area roughly 700 m in an east-west direction by 700 m north-south. Following Victory's Phase I drilling, this footprint has grown significantly to over 1200 m in the north-south direction. 
• Expansion potential in almost all directions. Vanadium mineralization at Iron Point is hosted within the Vinini formation which is exposed for 4500 m in a north-south direction. Based on the exploration work to date, the company believes that there is good potential in the Phase II drill programme to expand the vanadium mineralisation  with step-out drilling particularly in the north-south direction. 
• Property size increased. Based on the continuing footprint expansion of vanadium mineralisation and on a review of additional target areas for potential resource definition, Victory recently added 96 claims for 1800 acres to the Iron Point project. The extent of the property area now totals 690 claims for 13 300 acres.

 

Highlights of Phase I drilling

Key high-grade intercepts (previously reported) from Victory's maiden drill campaign include -

• 21 m grading 0.54% V₂O₅ (including 6 m grading 0.67% V₂O₅) in VM-6
• 27 m grading 0.56% V₂O₅ in VM-07
• 23 m grading 0.63% V₂O₅ (including 6 m grading 0.88% V₂O₅) in VM-23
• 20 m grading 0.54% V₂O₅ (including 9 m grading 0.68% V₂O₅) in VM-26
• 37 m grading 0.55% V₂O₅ (including 5 m grading 0.80% V₂O₅) in VM-26i
• 14 m grading 0.63% V₂O₅ (including 4 m grading 1.00% V₂O₅) in VM-26j
• 6 m grading 0.72% V₂O₅ in VM-51
• 18 m grading 0.53% V₂O₅ (including 2 m grading 1.14% V₂O₅) in VM-76

These intercepts are contained in two flat-lying higher grade vanadiferous horizons, referred to as the Upper and New High Grade Zones, which occur within a broader and extensive envelope of vanadium mineralisation within the Vinini Formation. This lower grade envelope of vanadium generally starts at surface and extends down to a depth of 175 m in places. Key intercepts include –

• 175 m grading 0.25% V₂O₅ in hole VM-02 (from surface)
• 168 meters grading 0.21% V₂O₅ in hole VM-4 (from surface)
• 139 m grading 0.28% V₂O₅ in hole VM-07 (from surface)
• 110 m grading 0.27% V₂O₅ in hole VM-33
• 125 m grading 0.22% V₂O₅ in VM-34, and
• 151 m grading 0.21% V₂O₅ in hole VM-76 (from surface).

Phase II drilling   

            

Following the results of the Phase I maiden drilling campaign, Victory worked with MDA to evaluate the overall extent of the vanadium mineralisation at Iron Point, and to position holes to support the planned maiden resource estimation work. With this objective MDA has developed the Phase II drill programme of 49 holes (39 RC and 10 core holes). The drill pattern covers a northwesterly trending zone measuring 1800m long by 550 m wide. Hole depths range from 130 m - 280 m, with angles ranging from -50° to vertical. Most of the holes are concentrated within the southern half of the property, where the previous drill holes were more widely spaced and where holes failed to fully penetrate both mineralised horizons. 

Two RC drills, one buggy-mounted and the other track-mounted, operated by New Frontier Drilling are currently engaged in perimeter definition drilling. The core drill is operated by National and is currently drilling PQ-size core that will provide samples for metallurgical testing. The RC drilling operates on a day-shift basis, while the core drill utilises 24 hour drilling. 

The proposed holes will be collared from existing historical drill roads, with several holes being drilled at an angle, allowing for minimal surface disturbance, importantly allowing Victory to complete the programme on its existing state-bonded Notice. The company has been working closely with the Bureau of Land Management, Humboldt County, to ensure that ongoing drilling complies closely with the Notice area. 

Read the article online at: https://www.globalminingreview.com/exploration-development/28052019/victory-metals-begins-phase-ii-of-drill-programme-at-its-iron-point-vanadium-project/