Announcement PDF ASX ANNOUNCEMENT Date: 29 July 2020 Number: 692/29072020 GLADSTONE AND THE SILVER LINING AT COMMONWEALTH, NSW • • • • • • New airborne magnetic data and previous rock chip assays results highlight significant potential for high grade gold-silver epithermal mineralisation in addition to porphyry copper-gold mineralisation across Impact’s extensive portfolio of 900 sq. km in the Lachlan Fold Belt. At Gladstone a previous rock chip sample returned 9.9 g/t gold, 3.2% copper and an exceptional silver result of 4,550 g/t associated with a significant 2 km long fault newly identified in the magnetic data which has never been explored. This mineralisation is likely similar to that at the recently reported Greenobbys prospect which returned rock chip assays up to 9.5 g/t gold, 215 g/t silver (7 ounces) and 745 ppm bismuth. This is a new style of mineralisation for this area and is suggestive of a telescoped epithermal gold-silver system driven by cooling of late granites. There has been no exploration of significance for this style of mineralisation on Impact’s tenements. A review of Impact’s Commonwealth and Silica Hill deposits at a time of rising gold and silver prices has also highlighted the high grade gold grades and bonanza silver grades within the Inferred Resources which contain 88,800 ounces of contained gold and 3,300,000 ounces of silver. The resources are open at depth and along trend beyond exceptional drill results such as: Main Shaft: 5.7 metres at 3.8 g/t gold, 347 g/t silver, 10.8% zinc and 3.7% lead including 0.5 metres at 4.9 g/t gold, 917 g/t silver, 10.2% zinc and 4.6% lead; Commonwealth South: 8 metres at 5.1 g/t gold, 20 g/t silver, 1.3% zinc and 0.5% lead including 0.5 metres at 34.3 g/t gold, 40 g/t silver, 5.8% zinc and 2.3% lead; and 4 metres at 41.8 g/t gold (1.3 ounces per tonne), 93 g/t silver, 5.5% zinc and 2.3% lead; Silica Hill: 22.5 metres at 1.7 g/t gold and 276 g/t silver; including 0.3 metres at 1.8 g/t gold and 4,200 g/t (135 ounces or 0.42%) silver; and also including 0.8 metres at 13.6 g/t gold and 40 g/t silver. • • • • The highest silver grade discovered to date at Silica Hill is 0.4 metres at 1.6 g/t gold and 6,240 g/t silver. The Commonwealth-Silica Hill deposits are unique in Australia and have strong similarities to the world class Eskay Creek gold-silver rich volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposit in Canada. The new magnetic data also shows both Gladstone and Boda South are now clearly shown to cover southern extensions of the Boda Intrusive Complex, host to the Boda porphyry copper-gold deposit and have not been drilled. The results of the soil geochemistry survey at Apsley have been received and are being interpreted. New airborne magnetic data and previous rock chip assays results have greatly enhanced the prospectivity of the Gladstone, Greenobbys and Boda South prospects at Impact Minerals Limited’s (ASX:IPT) 100% owned Commonwealth project in the Lachlan Fold Belt in New South Wales (Figures 1 and 2). In addition very high grade silver as well as gold results from Gladstone and Greenobbys have brought back into focus the fact that Impact’s ground holdings cover an exceptionally silver-rich part of a mineral province best known for its major copper-gold deposits such as Cadia-Ridgeway, North Parkes and the recent discovery at Boda (Figures 1 and 2; and ASX:ALK Releases 9th September 2019 and 19th May 2020). For example, Impact’s Commonwealth and Silica Hill deposits contain bonanza grades of silver in both massive sulphide lenses as well as in epithermal veins, an important factor to consider given the current resurgence in the silver price. Some key results from these deposits are also reviewed in this report as part of a reassessment of the entire Lachlan portfolio for its silver potential. Figure 1. Location of Impact’s Commonwealth, Pine Hill and Day Dawn Projects covering about 900 sq. km of the Lachlan Fold Belt of NSW, home to many significant gold and copper mines. Previous Work by Impact The Gladstone, Greenobbys and Boda South prospects were identified together with the Apsley and Spicers Creek prospects by Impact as priority areas for follow up exploration following the BodaKaiser discovery in late 2019 (Figure 2 and ASX Releases 22nd November 2019, 23rd April 2020 and 23rd June 2020). At the Apsley, Spicers Creek and Boda South prospects significant porphyry copper gold potential has been demonstrated because each prospect has characteristics commonly seen around giant alkaline porphyry copper-gold systems globally such as Cadia-Ridgeway and Boda. These include: 1. Copper-bearing high potassium alkaline (shoshonite) host rocks of Ordovician age; 2. metal assemblages and alteration minerals characteristic of the outer to inner zones of porphyry systems; and 3. an association with magnetic anomalies that may represent “skarn’ alteration directly associated with copper-gold mineralisation as also seen at Boda. None of these prospects has been drilled. The results of a detailed soil geochemistry survey at Apsley have recently been received and are being interpreted. At Greenobbys, Impact has identified high grade epithermal gold-silver mineralisation that is much younger than the porphyry copper-gold mineralisation and which has not been extensively explored for in the entire region. Here, rock chips returned up to 9.5g/t gold (six samples with more than 1 g/t gold) and 215 g/t silver (7 ounces of silver with four samples containing more than 1 ounce per tonne) from veins of Kfeldspar and quartz. In addition the veins contain a remarkable array of pathfinder metals in particular bismuth (up to 745 ppm), molybdenum (up to 519 ppm) and tellurium (up to 40 ppm), together with appreciable amounts of the pathfinder metals selenium-thallium-antimony-arsenic-lead-barium and tungsten (ASX Release 23rd June 2020). All of these features are interpreted to indicate the veins are related to fluids released from a potassium rich granite and which may represent a “telescoped” epithermal system covering at least several hundred square metres. The veins are open along trend and at depth as there is no recorded drilling in the area. Telescoping refers to the significant overlap between proximal and distal metal and mineral assemblages and suggests the possible rapid collapse of the parent hydrothermal system. This is encouraging for the discovery of bonanza gold -silver veins. The Gladstone target has been very poorly explored and Impact has only recently started to compile the scant previous exploration data as outlined below. Figure 2. Priority prospects for follow up work and geology of the Commonwealth Project. Note the location of the Boda-Kaiser prospects (Alkane Resources) and the Lady Ilse prospect (Magmatic Resources Limited) where drilling is in progress. New Airborne Magnetic Data Impact recently completed a detailed airborne magnetic and radiometric survey over the western parts of the Commonwealth project area at 50 metre line spacing. This has allowed new insights into the geology and structure of the area and a detailed interpretation of the data is in progress. An image of the magnetic data covering the Gladstone, Greenobbys and Boda South prospects is shown in Figure 3 and the associated simplified geology in Figure 4. At Gladstone the new magnetic data has identified two key areas for follow up work. First, it is now evident that the southern extension of the Boda Intrusive Complex extends for up to 1,000 metres on to Impact’s tenements from ground held by Magmatic Resources Limited (ASX:MAG) immediately to the north (Figure 3). This was not known with certainty beforehand because of the poor resolution of the previous magnetic data. A review of previous maps has also identified small outcrops of Ordovician rocks that poke through thin alluvial cover in this area (Figure 4). There has been no mapping or sampling of this area and it is very prospective for porphyry coppergold deposits. In addition, a major 2,000 metre long north-south trending structure has been identified close to the western edge of the tenement recognisable as a zone of magnetite destruction up to a few hundred metres wide (Figure 3). BIC Boda South Boda South Greenobbys Gladstone Gladstone Greenobbys BIC Figures 3 and 4. Image of magnetic data and simplified surface geology of the GladstoneGreenobbys-Boda South area (see also Figure 2). The location of the Boda-Kaiser discovery and the Lady Ilse prospect (Magmatic Resources Limited) are also shown. The white hatched areas at Gladstone and Greenobbys are zones of magnetite destruction caused by hydrothermal fluids and are priority areas for follow up. A rock chip sample taken by Newcrest Mining Limited at the edge of this structure in 1996 returned chip results from a quartz vein of 9.9 g/t gold, 3.2% copper and an exceptional silver result of 4,550 g/t silver (Gladstone West Figure 4; and ASX Release 23rd April 2020). Of note, the vein occurs in Devonian rocks and may be of a similar age and silver-rich nature to those at Greenobbys. Small workings and diggings are present along the structure for a few hundred metres. This has never been followed up. Two other rock chips samples taken 750 metres east returned 0.8 g/t gold and at Gladstone East an assay of 1.8 g/t gold was returned (Figures 3 and 4: ASX Release 23rd April 2020). There was no significant silver at these prospects. At Greenobbys the new magnetic data shows that the vein system occurs at the margin of a magnetic granite called the Wuuluman Granite (Carboniferous age). There are indications of the NW trending structures in the data. Of note is a north west trending magnetic low that is up to 500 metres thick and lies about 1 kilometre south of the vein system at Greenobbys (Figure 3). This is a clear zone of destruction of magnetite by hydrothermal fluids which has never been explored and is a priority area for follow up field checking. Together, Gladstone and Greenobbys indicate an emerging region for high grade gold and silver epithermal mineralisation in rocks much younger than those that host the porphyry copper-gold mineralisation. Impact has extensive ground holdings for this style of mineralisation (Figure 2). At Boda South the new magnetic data confirms that the southern end of the Boda Intrusive Complex (BIC) that controls the porphyry copper-gold mineralisation at Boda-Kaiser extends on to Impact’s tenements. The magnetic units are associated with a marked curvilinear structure that may represent the edge of the original intrusive complex (Figure 3). Given the prospective nature of the BIC, modelling of magnetic data is required to determine the depth to the intrusive complex at Boda South and this is progress. HIGH GRADE SILVER AT THE COMMONWEALTH AND SILICA HILL DEPOSITS The Commonwealth and associated Silica Hill deposits occur in the centre of Impact’s Commonwealth project and comprise a high sulphidation volcanogenic massive sulphide deposit and an epithermal gold-silver deposit respectively (Figure 2). Both deposits are characterised by exceptional silver grades. Impact has defined Inferred Resources at these two deposits that contain 88,000 ounces of gold and 3.3 million ounces of silver from surface to a depth of 250 metres, well within the range of open pit mining (ASX Release 22nd August 2018). Commonwealth (Main Shaft to Commonwealth South) comprises an Inferred Resource of 912,000 tonnes at 2.4 g/t gold, 44 g/t silver, 1.2% zinc and 0.5% lead including 142,000 tonnes at 4.5 g/t gold, 161 g/t silver, 4.6% zinc and 1.7% lead in the high grade massive sulphide lens at Main Shaft. Silica Hill, which was discovered by Impact comprises an Inferred Resource of 710,000 tonnes at 0.8 g/t gold and 88 g/t silver. The resources are open along trend and at depth and extensive further resource definition and extensional drilling is required to follow up key intercepts at Main Shaft and Silica Hill as outlined below. At Main Shaft the massive sulphide lens is still open at depth and along trend to the north and south east. For example, the resource is open to the north down plunge from drill hole CMIPT084 and at depth below drill hole CMIPT021 (Figure 5 and ASX Releases 18th September 2018 and 22nd October 2014). Hole CMIPT084 returned: 5.7 metres at 3.8 g/t gold, 347 g/t silver, 10.8% zinc and 3.7% lead from 52.1 metres down hole; including 0.7 metres at 15.6 g/t gold, 245 g/t silver, 8.6% zinc and 1.9% lead; and 0.5 metres at 4.9 g/t gold, 917 g/t silver, 10.2% zinc and 4.6% lead from 56.9 metres. Silica Hill Figure 5. Location of drill assays from the 2018 drill programme at Main Shaft and Silica Hill (yellow labels). The Main Shaft resource is labelled “Massive Sulphide Resource”. The Silica Hill Prospect is in the centre of the map. Hole CMIPT021 returned: 8.1 metres at 6 g/t gold, 193 g/t silver, 5.9% zinc, 2.3% lead and 0.16% copper from 71 metres including 2.9 metres at 9.3 g/t gold, 201 g/t silver, 11.6% zinc, 4.7% lead and 0.2% copper. At Silica Hill, a virgin discovery by Impact located 60 metres to 250 metres north east of Main Shaft (Figure 5) mineralisation comprises high grade veins and disseminations of sulphide with gold and extensive visible silver minerals (antimony and arsenic sulphosalts: proustite-pyrargyrite). These minerals are exceptionally rare in Australia and contribute to some exceptional silver grades in specific veins. There are also zinc and lead credits to the mineralisation at Silica Hill with the sulphides present being similar to those at Commonwealth-Main Shaft. They are interpreted as being part of the same overall mineralised system. The disseminated mineralisation between the veins has helped form thick zones of near-surface modest grade mineralisation with the potential for bulk open pit mining. For example discovery hole CMIPT011 returned bonanza-grade silver within a sulphide vein in a thick zone of silver-gold mineralisation as follows (Figure 6 and ASX Release 2nd September 2016): 48.6 metres at 137 g/t silver (4.4 ounces) and 0.5 g/t gold from 122 metres down hole, including, 23 metres at 224 g/t silver (7.2 ounces) and 1.0 g/t gold from 147.7 metres, which includes 0.9 metres at 3,146 g/t silver (101 ounces) and 2.4 g/t gold from 148.1 metres. Figure 6. Diamond drill core from Hole CMIPT011 showing semi-massive sulphide from a 0.9 metre thick zone that has returned 3,146 g/t or 101 ounces of silver and 2.4 g/t gold. In addition Hole CMIPT077 returned: 22.5 metres at 1.7 g/t gold and 276 g/t silver from 166.7 metres down hole; including 0.3 metres at 1.8 g/t gold and 4,200 g/t (135 ounces or 0.42%) silver from 174.4 metres; and also including 0.8 metres at 13.6 g/t gold and 40 g/t silver from 187.7 metres. And Hole CMIPT074 returned: 21.8 metres at 0.6 g/t gold and 273 g/t silver from 137.9 metres down hole; including 0.5 metres at 0.5 g/t gold and 1,485 g/t (48 ounces) silver from 143 metres; and 0.4 metres at 1.6 g/t gold and 6,240 g/t (200 ounces or 0.62%) silver from 148.5 metres. Three diamond drill holes have also established that there is a low grade silver halo of up to 10 g/t silver around the Silica Hill mineralisation that is at least 500 m by 500 m in dimension (Figure 5). For example Hole CMIPT072 returned 146 metres at 0.04 g/t gold and 5 g/t silver. In addition CMIPT078 drilled at the eastern end of the northern mineralised zone returned the thickest intercept of gold and silver to date in this zone and indicates improving grades to the east and returned: 117 metres at 0.3 g/t gold and 11 g/t silver. This attests to the scale of the mineralised system at Silica Hill which is still open in all directions and further deeper drilling is required (see ASX Releases 12th December 2017 and 13th February 2018 for details on the results from CMIPT072, 074, 077 and 078). The Eskay Creek gold-silver-base metal deposit Impact’s work at Commonwealth-Silica Hill has demonstrated compelling similarities to the world class Eskay Creek deposit in the famous “Golden Triangle” of northern British Columbia, Canada. Gold, silver and base metal mineralisation was first found in the Eskay Creek area in 1932 with sporadic exploration in the intervening 50 years before the discovery of the main Eskay Creek orebody in 1988. The deposit is the type example of a “high sulphidation volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposit”, a style of depoist only recognised in the past 30 years. Over its 14 year mine life Eskay Creek produced approximately 3.3 million ounces of gold and 160 million ounces of silver from 2.2 million tonnes of ore at average grades of 45 g/t gold and 2,224 g/t silver. It was once the world’s highest-grade gold mine and fifth-largest silver mine by volume. Cut-off grades ranged from 12 to 15 g/t AuEq for mill ore and 30 g/t AuEq for direct shipping smelter ore. In the past two years TSX:V listed company Skeena Resources Limited (TSX.V:SKE) has started to re-explore at Eskay Creek and the surrounding area and considerable attention has been aroused from some outstanding drill intercepts from remnant ore positions in the mine (see releases at www.skeenaresources.com). The similarities between Commonwealth, also interpreted as a high sulphidation VMS, and Eskay Creek include the host rocks and the style and type of mineralisation and pathfinder metals present (gold, silver sulphosalts, zinc, lead, extensive barite and lesser arsenic and antimony). In particular the units and veins of high grade gold and exceptionally high grade silver noted above are also characteristic. Furthermore, Commonwealth and Eskay Creek have the same very well developed alteration mineral assemblage that show the same very clear timing relationships of early silica-pyrite-K feldspar progressively overprinted by sericite and then chlorite. Figure 6 shows a plan map of Eskay Creek with Commonwealth shown at the same scale and highlighting the size of the massive sulphide lens at Main Shaft in comparison. It is evident at Eskay Creek that the target lenses are sometimes only 10’s of metres wide (as opposed to their thickness). Accordingly the drill spacing required to effectively test these lenses has to be of the order of 25 metres between drill holes. They can be easily missed. It is clear there is significant scope at Commonwealth to discover many more massive sulphide lenses. Figure 6. Comparison of Eskay Creek and Commonwealth at the same scale. Note the massive sulphide lens at Main Shaft (blue ellipse) and compare to the widths of all but the largest lens at Eskay Creek. Close spaced drilling is required in further exploration. NEXT STEPS The new magnetic data and previous exploration results by Impact and others strongly support the potential for the Commonwealth Project to host not only significant porphyry copper-gold deposits but also intrusion-related epithermal gold-silver deposits and volcanogenic massive sulphide deposits. Further work is now required to refine and rank these target areas for drilling. At present the Apsley target is ranked as the most prospective target for porphyr copper gold mineralisation and the results of a detailed soil geochemistry survey is now in progress. In addition, a detailed interpretation of the new airborne magnetic and radiometric survey is also in progress together with a review of previous exploration data. All of this new data will be interpreted and synthesised to help define follow up work programmes which will include drilling later in 2020. COMPLIANCE STATEMENT This report contains new airborne magnetic data only. The company confirms that it is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects the conclusions of the previous market announcements including the resource statements. MINERAL RESOURCE STATEMENT The resources at Commonwealth contain 88,800 ounces of gold and 3.3 million ounces of silver. The Mineral Resources at Commonwealth and Silica Hill have been prepared in accordance with the JORC 2012 Code by independent resource consultants Optiro and follows several drill programmes across the project area completed between 2015 and 2018. The updated Inferred Resource for the Commonwealth deposit at a cut-off of 0.5 g/t gold is (Figure 2): COMMONWEALTH (MAIN SHAFT TO COMMONWEALTH SOUTH) Resource Classification Cut-off 0.5 g/t gold Tonnes Gold (g/t) Contained gold (oz) Silver (g/t) Contained silver (oz) Zinc (%) Lead (%) Copper (%) Inferred 912,000 2.4 70,800 44 1,300,000 1.20% 0.50% 0.08 A separate Inferred Mineral Resource (included within the overall resource) has also been calculated for the massive sulphide lens at Main Shaft alone to demonstrate the high grade nature of such deposits that are the principal target for Impact’s exploration programme. The Main Shaft Inferred Resource is: MAIN SHAFT MASSSIVE SULPHIDE LENS Resource Classification Cut-off 0.5 g/t gold Tonnes Gold (g/t) Contained gold (oz) Silver (g/t) Contained silver (oz) Zinc (%) Lead (%) Copper (%) Inferred 142,000 4.5 20,600 161 737,500 4.6 1.7 0.2 At Silica Hill the maiden Inferred Resource at a 50 g/t silver cut-off is: SILICA HILL Resource Classification Cut-off 50 g/t silver Lode Tonnes (t) Silver (g/t) Contained silver (oz) Gold (g/t) Contained gold (oz) Inferred North 397,000 89 1,136,000 1 12,900 South 313,000 87 871,000 0.5 5,100 TOTAL 710,000 88 2,007,000 0.8 18,000 Dr Michael G Jones Managing Director COMPETENT PERSONS STATEMENT The review of exploration activities and results contained in this report is based on information compiled by Dr Mike Jones, a Member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists. He is a director of the company and works for Impact Minerals Limited. He has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and types of deposits under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (the JORC Code). Mike Jones has consented to the inclusion in the report of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears. The information in this report which relates to Mineral Resources at Commonwealth-Main Shaft is based upon information compiled by Susan Havlin, who is a Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Susan Havlin is an employee of Optiro Pty Ltd and has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which she is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves. Susan Havlin consents to the inclusion in the release of a summary based upon her information in the form and context in which it appears. The information in this report which relates to Mineral Resources at Silica Hill is based upon information compiled by Kahan Cervoj, who is a Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Kahan Cervoj is an employee of Optiro Pty Ltd and has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves. Kahan Cervoj consents to the inclusion in the release of a summary based upon his information in the form and context in which it appears.