Sarytogan finds further evidence of a copper porphyry core at Ilksan

• 318m at 0.14% copper from surface
• 15.2m at 0.40% copper, with gold and silver
• Potassic alteration and B-veins indicate porphyry-system proximity
• Deeper 452.5m hole awaiting assays
• True widths and economic significance remain unestablished

The second diamond hole at Sarytogan Graphite Limited (ASX:SGA) has returned 318 metres at 0.14% copper from surface at the Ilksan prospect in Kazakhstan, giving the company a second broad intercept across what it describes as a fertile copper porphyry system.

318-Metre Copper Intercept at Ilksan

Hole DDH-IL26001A ended at 318.2 metres, with the reported copper interval running essentially from surface to the end of the hole. The result included 18.9 metres at 0.29% copper from 5 metres, 8.6 metres at 0.25% copper from 41.2 metres, and 15.2 metres at 0.40% copper from 163.4 metres. The deepest of those higher-grade zones also returned 0.082 parts per million gold and 1.8 parts per million silver.

The result broadly matches the company’s first reported diamond hole at Ilksan, DDH-IL26002, which returned 229 metres at 0.14% copper from surface. That hole included 16.2 metres at 0.36% copper from 159.7 metres, while a separate interval returned 407 parts per million molybdenum. Sarytogan says the two holes extend the copper porphyry mineralisation previously identified at the prospect.

Alteration and Sulphide Veins Support Porphyry Interpretation

DDH-IL26001A was drilled at the centre of the strongest copper anomaly identified by shallow KGK drilling. The hole passed through diorite containing disseminated and vein-hosted chalcopyrite, pyrite and locally bornite, with molybdenite observed in some veinlets. Widespread potassic alteration, including K-feldspar, secondary biotite and locally magnetite, continued through much of the hole.

The company points specifically to quartz-biotite-magnetite-potassium feldspar-chalcopyrite B-veins as an indicator that drilling may be near the core of the porphyry system. Managing Director Sean Gregory said the core and assays demonstrated a “fertile copper porphyry system”, while noting that the deeper third hole would be important to the interpretation. Those geological indicators are encouraging exploration evidence, but the announcement does not establish true widths, a mineral resource or an economic assessment.

The current drilling builds on a broader exploration picture at Ilksan. Company trenching previously identified 270 metres at 0.13% copper, including 92 metres at 0.20% copper and 30 metres at 0.31% copper, while 130 shallow KGK holes outlined a bedrock anomaly about 600 metres across with copper grades above 500 parts per million and up to 0.5% copper. The company says the distribution of copper, lead and zinc anomalies is consistent with a porphyry-system model.

Deeper Hole Provides the Next Test

The third hole, DDH-ILK26003, was drilled 150 metres north of DDH-IL26001A, angled towards the south and completed at 452.5 metres after the 1,000-metre programme budget was exhausted. Samples were submitted to the laboratory on 12 August, with assays expected in the coming weeks. Those results should provide the next indication of how the mineralisation behaves at depth, although further drilling will still be needed to establish its geometry, continuity and scale.

Bottom Line?

The second broad intercept strengthens the Ilksan porphyry interpretation, but the deeper hole must clarify whether the system improves, narrows or changes at depth.

Questions in the middle?

• Will the 452.5-metre third hole return stronger copper grades or extend the mineralised envelope?
• What are the true widths and geometry of the reported down-hole intercepts?
• Can further drilling demonstrate sufficient continuity to support a future mineral resource estimate?