Collectively, the Mars Aurora Tank Prospect covers an area greater than 65km2 and straddles Apollo’s 100% owned-Commonwealth Hill tenements and its Aurora Tank JV farm-in tenement with Marmota Energy.
Historic drilling returned significant gold silver and iron grades in several holes up to a maximum of 2.0g/t Au, 4g/t Ag and 52% Fe, as well as anomalous copper of up to 470ppm.
Surface outcrop recently discovered by Apollo includes strongly brecciated outcrop which appears strikingly similar to geology at Olympic Dam and the nearby Vulcan IOCG Prospect.
Other important IOCG indicators identified by Apollo include the recognition of strongly mineralised iron, gold, and silver and anomalous copper in historic drilling along the margins of the target; large coherent surface geochemical anomalies; a 6.5km long magnetic body immediately alongside large, circular non-magnetic zones potentially representative of hydrothermal alteration; and a rare volcanic outcrop within the system that may be related to the targeted Gawler Range Volcanics. Preliminary age dating and petrology is underway to confirm this.
Further Exploration
Apollo is now planning follow up gravity and magnetic surveys designed to identify dense, non-magnetic rock units which may be host to economic IOCG mineralisation. Results from the surveys will be used in siting holes for future drilling programme.
A recently completed ground EM profile within the historic epithermal gold focused drilling at the southern margin of the target (6,714,400mN) identified a conductive zone below the mineralisation, dipping at approximately 45o degrees to the east. This zone may be related to mineralisation controlling structures and / or a fluid flow pathway and is being investigated further.
