Kookaburra reviews Longshot assays

Drilling on the Longshot Ridge copper oxide project owned by Kookaburra Gold (VSE) was recently completed with assays for four of 10 holes released.

Rennie Blair, president, said the company drilled only 10 holes of a planned 15-hole program after meeting all its objectives.

The property, located about 25 miles east of Hawthorne, Nev., hosts a copper-oxide deposit estimated to contain preliminary reserves of about 15 million tons grading 0.55% copper, as defined by 15 wide-spaced drill holes. The elliptical-shaped deposit lies under a ridge and measures about 1,500 ft. long, 700 ft. in width and up to 420 ft. in thickness. Preliminary estimates of the strip ratio put it at about 0.6-to-1.

Kookaburra hopes to bring the project into production using solvent extraction-electrowinning technology.

The first hole in this year’s program was drilled on the western edge of the deposit but did not intersect the target zone, returning 70 ft. from surface grading 0.20% copper. The hole bottomed in mineralization and will be extended.

Hole 92-2 intersected 110 ft., from 130 ft. to 240 ft., grading 0.98% copper. The hole was stopped because of drill rig problems, bottoming in ore-grade mineralization; it will also be extended.

Hole 92-3, drilled on the southern portion of the deposit, intersected 120 ft. (starting at surface) grading 0.32% copper. The hole also intersected an additional 70 ft. grading 0.23% copper from 120 ft. to 190 ft. Hole 92-4, drilled in the west-central part of the deposit about 200 ft. south of 92-2, intersected 160 ft. grading 0.62% from 30 ft. to 190 ft. The intersection included a higher-grade zone from 30 ft. to 150 ft. grading 0.75% copper.

Kookaburra notes that the drilling confirms further the potential for a higher-grade starter pit in the western, northern and northeastern portion off the Longshot Ridge deposit.

The company plans to start column leach tests on the deposit when all assays from the drilling have been received and composites of the various types of material can be chosen.

A preliminary technical and financial analysis of the project is also under way.

Blair said the next phase of work will include detailed drilling, metallurgical testing, environmental studies and engineering work. No budget estimates have been made but Blair said the funds would be raised largely through some form of equity financing. Kookaburra currently has about $130,000 in working capital and 6.4 million shares outstanding.