Summary:
The Mineral Resources for Mineral Hill includes five separate mineral deposits: Pearse (North and South), Southern Ore Zone (SOZ), Jack’s Hut, Red Terror and Parker’s Hill.
Pearse North
The Pearse North deposit at Mineral Hill is interpreted to be an epithermal shear-hosted Au-Ag within the Late Silurian to Early Devonian Mineral Hill Volcanics, a pile of proximal rhyolitic volcaniclastic rocks with minor reworked volcaniclastic sedimentary rocks. The sulphide mineralisation, comprising predominantly pyrite, arsenopyrite and stibnite, is typically disseminated within quartz-mica (sericite) schist. At the Pearse South deposit to the south, analysis by Laser Ablation ICP-MS has found that fine-grained gold is mostly concentrated in arsenopyrite and fine-grained ‘spongy’ (melnikovite) pyrite with lower concentrations of gold hosted by crystalline pyrite. Petrological analysis of drill core confirms that mineralisation at Pearse North has similar characteristics to that at Pearse South.
Southern Ore Zone (SOZ)
The SOZ at Mineral Hill is an VHMS polymetallic with overprinted epithermal (Cu – Au to Cu, Pb, Zn, Ag, Au system) vein and breccia system hosted by the Late Silurian to Early Devonian Mineral Hill Volcanics, a pile of proximal rhyolitic volcaniclastic rocks with minor reworked volcaniclastic sedimentary rocks.
The mineralisation is structurally controlled and comprises lodes centred on hydrothermal breccia zones within and adjacent to numerous faults, surrounded by a halo of quartz-sulphide vein stockwork mineralisation. Wall rock alteration consists of quartz-chlorite-illite-sericite.
Individual sub parallel en-echelon west-dipping mineralised breccia zones make up SOZ. Lodes are identified as A (most eastern), B and C lodes. These lodes are similar, with mineralisation commonly hosted in the form of breccias, composed of volcanic wall rock and older quartz-sulphide vein fragments set in a silica and sulphide matrix and locally comprising massive sulphide. Lead and Zinc grades decline to the west, where Lodes D, G and H are lead zinc poor and enriched in copper-gold mineralisation.
The mineralisation wireframes generally strike N-S (local grid) and dip around 65° to the west. To the south the lodes A, B and C show a southerly plunge, where they underlie the top shear.
Parker’s Hill and Red Terror
The Parkers Hill deposit, located within the Mineral Hill mining complex in central New South Wales, is a volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) system hosted in felsic volcaniclastics and sedimentary units typical of the Cobar Basin. Mineralisation occurs as semi-massive to massive sulphide lenses dominated by sphalerite (Zn), galena (Pb), and chalcopyrite (Cu), with associated silver (Ag) and minor gold (Au). These zones are structurally controlled, typically forming along fold hinges and fault corridors, and are enveloped by intense silica-sericite-chlorite alteration.
Parkers Hill is interpreted to have been structurally thrust over the underlying Red Terror copper-gold lodes, reflecting a significant deformation event during the basin’s tectonic evolution. This structural overprint introduces complexity that may influence grade distribution and continuity, necessitating detailed modelling and targeted drilling. The deposit is considered an advanced open pit target with strong potential for resource expansion through infill and extensional programs.
Copper mineralisation is interpreted to be controlled by steep, west dipping lodes within the fresh domain, which represent the dominant primary geometry. Within the oxide zone these features are strongly overprinted by weathering, with supergene redistribution interpreted to have mobilised copper along -flat lying structures near the water table. This process has imparted a more horizontal attitude to the mineralisation, partially obscuring the underlying steep lodes evident- in the fresh domain. Lead mineralisation is predominantly hosted within the oxide domain, following flatter east dipping- structures. Zinc mineralisation occurs both above and below the lead, but is dominantly developed deeper in the weathering profile within the transitional zone, extending marginally into the fresh domain.
Jack’s Hut
Jack’s Hut deposit is classified as Sulphide Cu-Au (Bi) as veins and breccia infill of Qz-Py-Cpy.
Dimensions
• Pearse South: The gold mineralisation identified varies from 5 m to 70 m in width and goes to a depth of 125 m below surface along the 225 m strike length drilled to date. The zone strikes 15° to the north-east and dips approximately 50- 60° to the east.
• Jack’s Hut: The JHT deposit strikes approximately 900 m within a structural corridor along the Jack Hut Trend. The structural corridor dips approximately 70° to the west at depth. the upper proportions of (Iodide Deposit are shallow dipping (20-30° West). The mineralisation extends from surface to 200 m below the surface, previous operators have developed ore drives on 1100 mRL, 1070 mRL. The northern portion of Jacks Hut extends to 300 m below the surface.
• SOZ: The SOZ deposit strikes approximately 500 m within a structural corridor below the Top Shear. The structural corridor dips approximately 65° to the west at depth. the upper proportions of A lode are shallow dipping (20-30° West). The mineralisation extends from approximately 150 m below the surface to 300 m below the surface, previous operators have developed ore drives on 1100 mRL, 1060 mRL, 1040mRL and a shorter drive on the 1010mRL.