iTech Minerals finds second Sabre shoot as gold-antimony zone reaches 270m

Deep drilling doubles Sabre’s tested depth

iTech Minerals Ltd (ASX:ITM) has more than doubled the drilled vertical extent of its main Sabre gold-antimony shoot in the Northern Territory, extending it from roughly 100 metres to approximately 270 metres below surface. The strongest new result was 25 metres at 4.88 g/t gold and 0.85% antimony from 242 metres in hole SBRC26-017, including 10 metres at 8.50 g/t gold and 1.83% antimony.

The same hole produced a peak interval of 1 metre at 14.57 g/t gold and 3.95% antimony. Nearby hole SBRC26-016 returned 28 metres at 3.23 g/t gold and 0.40% antimony from 192 metres, including 11 metres at 4.81 g/t gold and 0.78% antimony.

The results build on the 36m Sabre drill intercept reported in August, which returned 36 metres at 5.60 g/t gold and 1.2% antimony from 81 metres. The latest holes were drilled steeply to test the depth of the mineralisation and indicate that gold and antimony remain associated at depth, according to the release.

Second shoot emerges south of the main zone

Phase 2 reverse-circulation drilling also identified a second mineralised body, about 120 metres south of Shoot 1 and beneath outcrop rock chips that had returned up to 182 g/t gold. Hole SBRC26-008 intersected 21 metres at 2.04 g/t gold from 81 metres, including 11 metres at 3.13 g/t gold, while SBRC26-009 returned 6 metres at 2.62 g/t gold from 67 metres.

The company’s model shows two further interpreted zones to the north and north-west, but those targets remain untested. The grade shells are interpretive and are not a Mineral Resource estimate or Exploration Target. Assays are also still pending for parts of the Shoot 2 holes, including material immediately below the 21-metre interval in SBRC26-008.

Long intercepts come with a width warning

Broad mineralised intervals in SBRC26-016 and SBRC26-017 add evidence of continuity, but require careful reading. The holes returned 209 metres at 1.14 g/t gold and 136 metres at 1.61 g/t gold respectively, yet the company says both were drilled at a low angle to the steeply dipping shoot. The quoted downhole lengths are therefore substantially greater than the true widths, which are not yet known.

Several holes are only partly assayed. Gold results remain outstanding for sections of holes SBRC26-007 to SBRC26-013, including areas adjacent to Shoot 2, while selected intervals in other holes were submitted for assay. Metallurgical test work is underway to assess gold and antimony recoveries, but no metal equivalent or economic assessment has been reported.

Diamond drilling targets depths below 300m

iTech plans to begin the next Sabre campaign in mid-November with at least two deep diamond holes aimed at testing Shoot 1 between 300 and 400 metres below surface. Later phases are expected to target depths below 500 metres after the wet season, while additional drilling is planned to test Shoot 2 below 150 metres and establish the structure and true width of the mineralisation.

The immediate test is whether the encouraging geometry survives more rigorous drilling. Pending assays may clarify the southern shoot, while diamond core should provide the structural information needed to distinguish a genuinely substantial mineralised body from long intersections created by drilling angle.