Australian Gold and Copper Ltd. has significantly strengthened its South Cobar Project with the addition of a new target called Hilltop, 25km west of the town of Lake Cargelligo, NSW. Hilltop is prospective for gold and base-metal deposits similar to the high-grade Federation discovery, located north along strike, and currently being developed by Aurelia Metals. Hilltop was identified by target generation and regional reconnaissance, followed by soil and rock chip sampling through new licence EL 9336.

Hilltop sits within the recently announced prospective target horizons, which is dominated by volcanic and sedimentary rocks consistent with the Cobar Basin (Bull and McPhie, 2006). Hilltop is more than 4km long with outcropping rocks on the hills where lead in soils were first identified by previous explorers. Currently, the main target zone is a hill defined by new soil sampling recently completed by AGC that resulted in an exceptional >100ppm lead in soil zone 1,000m long by 500m wide.

The lead-in-soil anomaly separates into two zones greater than >200ppm lead. The geology at these higher tenor anomalies exhibits a SW plunge and pose as exceptional drill targets. The prospective geochemistry is hosted in sheared, quartz-sericite-chlorite altered volcaniclastic rocks that abut coherent, blocky rhyolite.

Localised areas display strong leached sulphide textures, called gossans, which host the highest tenor gold. Nine rock chips taken recently returned up to 3.5g/t gold, 33g/t silver, 1.0% lead + zinc and 800ppm copper (RARK004) with seven of those returning 0.1g/t Au or greater. To the northeast, the target horizon appears to continue under transported cover and to the south is interpreted to plunge under rhyolite.

Hilltop, originally called Kemptons grid, was first explored by a subsidiary of BHP Ltd. in the late 1970's (Dampier Mining Co. Ltd., 1979), where surface sampling defined the target, followed up with three shallow, vertical, percussion drill holes returning 5-10% pyrite and elevated lead, zinc copper and gold. The first hole PH01 returned an interval of 36m at 0.36% Pb+Zn from 6m depth to the end of hole with up to 3m at 0.835% Pb+Zn from 27m.

The three holes drilled by Dampier Mining were between 18m to 42m in depth and were all drilled vertically. Vertical holes are not typically considered suitable for Cobar style deposits, which will in general have pod shaped and vertically extensive ore bodies. Deeper angled holes are generally necessary to discover this style of deposits.

Another explorer between 2007 to 2011 defined further anomalism by rock chip sampling and aircore drilling. Rangott focused on northern and southern extensions defining an area they called Brooks but did not drill test the main Hilltop zone. With the new soil and rock sampling and upcoming IP geophysics survey, Hilltop represents a significant potential discovery opportunity for AGC.

The new data shows strong prospectivity for a large, near-surface Cobar-style deposit that to date has not been effectively drill tested. A broad spaced induced polarisation (IP) geophysical survey will commence shortly once the Achilles survey is complete.