Quinns Project
Quinns is located 55km south of Meekatharra covering an area of ~84km2. The area was an early mining centre commencing in the late 1890's with a peak of mining in 1910 principally for gold from a series of quartz reefs that were mined variously at an average grade of greater than 0.5oz/t. Silver Swan's principal focus in the area is for volcanogenic massive sulphide (Cu-Zn-Ag-Au) mineralisation. The company has successfully discovered significant copper-zinc mineralisation at Austin in the southwestern corner of the Quinns area.
Quinns, was an early mining centre in the Meekatharra region, commencing in the late 1890’s with a peak of mining in 1910 principally for gold from a series of quartz reefs; the Two Jacks, Parramatta, Cornstalk and Nowthanna reefs were mined variously at an average grade of greater than 0.5oz/t, the Murchison Wonder, Wallaby and Nuggety jaspers at >1oz/t and Olympic jaspers was mined at 24oz/t. Historic recorded production from Quinns is of the order 17,000oz Au between 1898-1938. Subsequent to this, an estimated 20,000oz+ has been recovered from alluvial workings.
Quartz vein systems within mafic and felsic volcanics and banded iron formation have been explored variously for gold and base metal mineralization. Historic drilling has tended to be shallow (to about 40m depth).
;)
;)
Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide (Cu-Zn-Ag-Au) Mineralisation
Volcanogenic massive sulphide mineralisation at the Austin prospect is hosted in felsic and intermediate volcanic rocks and volcaniclastic sediments that have been metamorphosed to amphibolite facies. The footwall and host rock comprises a quartz-chlorite-tremolite schist and the hangingwall, basaltic amphibolite.
At Austin, a pre-existing aeromagnetic and weak gravity anomaly, along with anomalous copper and zinc mineralisation in a 1991 CRA drillhole prompted Silver Swan to re-visit the area. An initial fixed loop electromagnetic programme by Silver Swan generated a good conductor that was drilled resulting in the 'discovery' hole 08ATD001. Downhole electromagnetics and structural data have assisted subsequent drilling.
Silver Swan Group has drilled a total of 12 diamond holes into the project with results from 8 holes available to date.
A summary of best copper grades is shown in the following table in order of length of intersection.
| Hole No. | |||
| 08ATD007 | |||
| 08ATD001 | |||
| 08ATD009 | |||
| 08ATD004 | |||
| 08ATD003 | |||
| 08ATD008 | |||
| 08ATD012 |
Austin Schematic Map (all drill holes projected to surface)
;)
At Austin mineralisation occurs beneath only 50m of transported cover; a gossanous cap of about 5-10m thickness precedes primary massive sulphide. The sulphide assemblage comprises chalcopyrite (Cu) and sphalerite (Zn), with gangue of pyrite, magnetite and pyrrhotite. Gold and silver are coincident with copper mineralisation. Structural and stratigraphic data collected from diamond drillholes indicate mineralisation ‘youngs’ down-hole, dips to the north and is associated with Z-shaped fold structures plunging steeply to the NE. Mineralisation remains open at depth and open along mineralised limbs extending south-southeast and northwest. To date, Silver Swan has drilled 12 diamond holes into the project. From this limited number of holes, drilling already indicates a massive and continuous high-grade zone of more than 80m in length, up to 50m in true width and more than 150m of vertical extent.
The mineralisation style at Austin bears close resemblance to the Golden Grove deposits that lie about 240km SW in the Yalgoo greenstone belt of the Murchison District. This style of mineralisation usually occurs with multiple deposits within a (mining) camp or area and to that effect, the company is conducting regional work over the larger Quinns area. In consequence, the company has identified other targets at Quinns where copper and zinc gossans are located.
Silver Swan awaits the results of its 25m line-spaced airborne geophysical programme over Quinns that will assist in the identification of future targets as well as key structural and stratigraphic detail of areas under transported cover.
;)
08ATD004 at 84m depth. Chalcopyrite (Cu) and pyrite (FeS) mineralisation
;)
08ATD007 at 123m depth. Massive sphalerite (dark brown) with chalcopyrite (metallic yellow), pyrite and chlorite-talc schist (green-black)
Cross Section North-South (all drill holes projected onto section)
;)
Long Section Looking North (all drill holes projected onto section)
;)
Austin Copper Intersections
| Hole No. | |||||||||
| 08ATD001 | |||||||||
| including | |||||||||
| 08ATD002 | |||||||||
| 08ATD003 | |||||||||
| 08ATD004 | |||||||||
| including | |||||||||
| 08ATD007 | |||||||||
| including | |||||||||
| 08ATD008 | |||||||||
| 08ATD009 | |||||||||
| 08ATD012 | |||||||||
| including |
Gold Intersections
| Hole No. | |||||||||
| 08ATD001 | |||||||||
| 08ATD002 | |||||||||
| 08ATD003 | |||||||||
| 08ATD007 | |||||||||
| 08ATD009 | |||||||||
| 08ATD012 |
Zinc Intersections
| Hole No. | |||||||||
| 08ATD001 | |||||||||
| including | |||||||||
| 08ATD002 | |||||||||
| 08ATD003 | |||||||||
| 08ATD007 | |||||||||
| 08ATD009 | |||||||||
| 08ATD012 |
Silver Intersections
| Hole No. | |||||||||
| 08ATD001 | |||||||||
| 08ATD002 | |||||||||
| 08ATD003 | |||||||||
| 08ATD004 | |||||||||
| 08ATD007 | |||||||||
| including | |||||||||
| 08ATD008 | |||||||||
| 08ATD009 | |||||||||
| 08ATD012 |
Gold
Areas such as Nowthanna and Kaladbro have distinctive areas of gold anomalism defined from drilling. These anomalies remain open.
At Nowthanna quartz veins appear to trend NNW, dipping NE, whilst drilling is oriented NW. It remains unclear as to whether the intended target had been drilled given that the drilling orientation and strike of quartz veins are near parallel. Contoured maximum downhole Au grades shown below illustrates limited drill testing, anomalous gold open to the south and untested historic workings extending to the SSE. The table below gives significant drill intersections.
;)
| Significant intersections from the Nowthanna Hill prospect | |||||||
| Hole ID | Datum | Northing | Easting | From | To | Width | Au ppm |
| QN1 | AMG84 | 659253 | 7001558 | 18 | 21 | 3 | 5.17 |
| QN2 | AMG84 | 659241 | 7001520 | 23 | 26 | 3 | 1.13 |
| QN3 | AMG84 | 659248 | 7001538 | 6 | 9 | 3 | 1.21 |
| QN4 | AMG84 | 659259 | 7001578 | 28 | 37 | 9 | 4.68 |
| QN6 | AMG84 | 659247 | 7001604 | 36 | 43 | 7 | 1.35 |
| QN7 | AMG84 | 659239 | 7001590 | 27 | 34 | 7 | 2.87 |
| QN8 | AMG84 | 659235 | 7001563 | 12 | 14 | 2 | 2.22 |
| QN9 | AMG84 | 659224 | 7001554 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 2.93 |
| QN11 | AMG84 | 659227 | 7001575 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2.78 |
| NWR1 | AMG84 | 659268 | 7001648 | 38 | 39 | 1 | 1.33 |
| NWR4 | AMG84 | 659304 | 7001607 | 31 | 32 | 1 | 1.24 |
| NWR5 | AMG84 | 659317 | 7001595 | 32 | 34 | 2 | 1.42 |
| NW0001 | AMG84 | 659246 | 7001576 | 17 | 19 | 2 | 4.08 |
| NW0002 | AMG84 | 659269 | 7001526 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 5.74 |
| NW0003 | AMG84 | 659281 | 7001544 | 20 | 22 | 2 | 1.57 |
| NW0004 | AMG84 | 659291 | 7001558 | 15 | 16 | 1 | 1.58 |
| NW0007 | AMG84 | 659275 | 7001569 | 27 | 30 | 3 | 1.51 |
At Kaladbro, drilling is oriented parallel to stratigraphy when the mineralized host rock appears to be BIF. The BIF has demonstrated strike continuity and a fence of drilling along the BIF has returned significant mineralised intersections.