Sabre Resources has completed its maiden 4,362-metre drilling program at Kurundi North, where surface sampling identified copper, bismuth, silver, zinc and lead associated with ironstone. The key test now moves to the laboratory, with 1,048 drill samples awaiting results expected in four to five weeks.
- 54 aircore and slimline RC holes completed across a 3.5km target corridor
- Ironstone rockchips returned up to 173.3ppm copper, 106.7ppm bismuth and 2.29g/t silver
- Drilling intersected multiple iron-enriched zones, but no laboratory assays are available yet
- Detailed gravity survey refined magnetic and fault-related targets across a 10km corridor
- Environmental Mining Licence approved for planned North Arunta gold drilling
Kurundi drilling reaches the assay stage
Sabre Resources Ltd (ASX:SBR) has finished the first pass of a drilling program designed to test whether Kurundi North contains a Tennant Creek-style copper-gold system. The company drilled 54 aircore and slimline reverse-circulation holes for 4,362 metres across four section lines spanning 3.5 kilometres of a copper-anomalous corridor.
The field evidence is encouraging, but it is not yet a discovery. Multiple holes intersected iron-enriched zones in Warramunga Formation rocks, and 1,048 selected samples have been sent to Intertek for 53-element ICP-MS analysis. Sabre expects those results in four to five weeks. The downhole iron figures released with the announcement are visual or pXRF estimates, not laboratory assay results.
Surface geochemistry matches the Tennant Creek model
The geological case rests partly on 19 rockchip samples collected from ironstone and ironstone breccia in a northwest-trending fault corridor. Twelve samples were identified as ironstone or partly weathered ironstone breccia, averaging 26.3% iron. Individual samples returned copper of up to 173.3 parts per million, bismuth of up to 106.7ppm, silver of up to 2.29 grams per tonne, zinc of up to 556ppm and lead of up to 1,212.9ppm.
Sabre says the combination of copper, bismuth, zinc, lead and silver resembles the geochemical signature of ironstone-hosted mineralisation at Tennant Creek, 80 kilometres to the northwest. The company’s earlier Kurundi drilling campaign was launched to test similar magnetic, gravity and geochemical targets. The comparison remains geological rather than economic: surface rockchips do not establish grade continuity, thickness or a mineable resource.
Gravity survey sharpens the next targets
A new gravity survey adds another layer to the exploration model. Sabre collected 1,501 stations across the broader 10-kilometre corridor, with tighter 250-metre by 50-metre spacing through the central target area. Interpreted alongside drone magnetics, the data highlighted northwest-trending structures and gravity highs associated with observed ironstone-bearing rocks.
The company plans to use the pending assays, geological observations and gravity-magnetics interpretation to select zones for infill and extension aircore or RC drilling. Government co-funded diamond drilling is also planned, subject to the outcome of the initial program. That sequencing matters: the current holes are reconnaissance work, while the proposed diamond drilling would provide a deeper test of the strongest targets.
North Arunta receives approval, but timing remains open
Sabre also reported that it has received an Environmental Mining Licence for drilling at its North Arunta Gold Project, covering more than 1,000 square kilometres along the Kroda Gold Trend. Planned holes will target extensions of historical gold-bearing structures, including areas associated with previous intersections of 6 metres at 3.5 grams per tonne gold and 3 metres at 3.87 grams per tonne gold.
Preparatory work is under way, although Sabre cautioned that rig availability could push the program beyond the current field season and into the new year. For shareholders, the immediate catalyst is therefore Kurundi’s assay batch, while the North Arunta program introduces a second exploration timetable and another test of the company’s expanded Northern Territory portfolio.
Bottom Line?
Kurundi has produced the right geological signals for a follow-up campaign, but the investment case still turns on whether laboratory assays convert ironstone indicators into meaningful copper-gold intervals.
Questions in the middle?
- Will the 1,048 pending samples confirm copper, gold and associated metals within the iron-enriched drill zones?
- Do the ironstone zones show enough width and continuity to justify deeper government co-funded diamond drilling?
- Can Sabre secure a suitable rig in time to begin the approved North Arunta program before the field season closes?