Ballymore Resources (ASX:BMR) has commenced drilling a deep exploratory hole at its Dittmer Project in North Queensland, targeting a significant magnetic anomaly interpreted as a porphyry copper-gold deposit. This initiative is backed by a $250,000 grant from the Queensland Government’s Collaborative Exploration Initiative (CEI). The drill target is located beneath the historic Dittmer mine, known for high-grade gold. The company aims to find a porphyry intrusion akin to the Northparkes and Ridgeway deposits in Eastern Australia.
Prior to this deep drill hole, Ballymore successfully completed Stage 5 drilling at Dittmer, with all holes intersecting the Duffer Lode structure. Assay results from Stage 5 drilling have been positive, including a notable intersection of 0.40m @ 221.31g/t Au, 70.2g/t Ag, & 2.71% Cu. The company believes the Dittmer mine’s mineralization originates from the underlying intrusive system they are now targeting.
According to Ballymore Managing Director, David A-Izzeddin, the CEI program offers crucial non-dilutive funding for innovative exploration. He highlighted that they also received a $150,000 CEI grant for an IP survey over the Andromache porphyry copper-gold target, scheduled to begin in July. The deep drill hole is expected to take approximately 50 days to complete.
The target is a 1200m x 800m pipe-like magnetic body identified in a 2024 survey. Historical data from the 1970s reveals that MIM and CRA discovered two porphyry copper deposits south of Dittmer. Ballymore believes the gold-bearing lodes in the Dittmer area are connected to a similar buried porphyry system at depth. Limited drilling has been completed in the Dittmer Project area with target commodities including copper, gold, silver and critical minerals. Planned activities for 2025 include further Dittmer Stage 5 drill results, a technical review of Maniopota airborne EM survey data, the Andromache IP survey, and completion of the Dittmer deep porphyry drill hole.
