Impact Minerals Limited (ASX: IPT) has announced the resumption of exploration activities at its 100%-owned Broken Hill Project in New South Wales. Impact Minerals is an Australian exploration company focused on discovering precious and base metal deposits. The Broken Hill Project covers 1,770 sq km surrounding the Broken Hill silver-lead-zinc deposit. This decision is underpinned by rising metal prices, new exploration concepts, and increased corporate activity in the region.
The company’s tenements are prospective for large sedimentary or magmatic copper deposits, high-grade magmatic nickel-copper-PGM sulphides, and Broken Hill-style silver-lead-zinc mineralisation. A review of previous exploration data is underway, with initial results focusing on the Platinum Springs prospect. Historical drilling at Platinum Springs yielded intercepts including 0.6 metres at 7.6% copper, 7.4% nickel, 25.6 g/t palladium, 11.5 g/t platinum, 1.4 g/t gold, and 44.3 g/t silver.
Impact had previously identified a multi-metal ratio that correlates with PGE grades. This technique facilitated the identification of consistent zones of higher-grade nickel–copper–PGE mineralisation in ribbon-like channels at the base of the host intrusion. Recent drilling has identified three new channels at the Plat Central and Plat East prospects, including intercepts such as 1 metre at 10.9 g/t palladium, 7.3 g/t platinum, 3.3 % nickel, 1% copper and 23 g/t silver from 62 metres; and 7 metres at 3.8 g/t 7PGE, 0.6% copper, 0.5% nickel and 9.4 g/t silver from 53 metres.
Moving forward, Impact plans to conduct detailed ground EM surveys to pinpoint targets for further drilling. Managing Director Dr. Mike Jones noted that this move is also driven by the revitalisation of the Broken Hill area following Broken Hill Mines’ acquisition of the Rasp Mine. The company aims to allocate some of its recently raised funds to revamp exploration efforts at Broken Hill, capitalising on high-grade prospects and new theories for large copper deposits.
