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Dart Mining (ASX: DTM) is continuing to work towards a Resource upgrade at the company's Unicorn porphyry in the September quarter, with assays supporting potential extensions to the project.

To date, 19 holes of the 20 hole drilling program have been drilled, with the aim of updating the resources.

Assays from three drill holes have returned intersections of:

- 126 metres at 0.08% molybdenum equivalent from surface;
- 252 metres at 0.06% molybdenum equivalent from surface, including 54 metres at 0.08% molybdenum equivalent; and
- 186 metres at 0.06% molybdenum equivalent from surface, including 30 metres at 0.18% molybdenum equivalent.

The third hole also returned copper results, with intercepts of 109 metres at 0.2% copper and 20 metres at 0.7% copper, highlighting the increase in copper within the northern part of the deposit.

Unicorn hosts a maiden JORC Indicated and Inferred Resource of 105 million tonnes at 0.07% molybdenum equivalent, including 29 million tonnes at 0.09% molybdenum equivalent.

Importantly, this Resource is interpreted to represent only the upper limits of a very large intrusive porphyry system.

The most recent results from drilling highlight the potential to extend the deposit to the south and east, beyond the current conceptual pit boundary.

Lindsay Ward, managing director of Dart, said the results of drilling so far were positive for Unicorn.

"The surrounding breccia, which is not included in the current JORC resource estimate, appears to contain consistent grades of Mo - Cu - Ag,"

"These results also suggest the conceptual pit design should have a very low strip ratio which could greatly benefit the economics of the Unicorn deposit.

"These additional assay results confirm Dart Mining's confidence that the Resource upgrade drilling is progressing to plan. The current drilling program will be completed by early July with the Resource upgrade planned for release during the third quarter 2012."

Dart is targeting production from Unicorn by 2016-2017, and is supported by adequate funding, with a cash balance of A$1.8 million at the end of the March quarter.

Strategic project location

Dart owns 100% beneficial interests in seven tenements within the Lachlan Fold Belt in northeast Victoria.

Unicorn is the principal porphyry intrusive within Dart's tenement holdings, and hosts molybdenum, copper and silver mineralisation in multiple stacked high grade zones.

The Lachlan Fold Belt hosts existing projects, including Newcrest Mining's (ASX: NCM) Cadia Hill and Ridgeway projects and Rio Tinto's (ASX: RIO) Northparkes mine in New South Wales.

Cadia Hill hosts 1.7 million ounces gold and 140,000 tonnes copper in Reserves, while Ridgeway hosts Reserves of 2.5 million ounces of gold and 340,000 tonnes of copper.

The Lachlan Fold Belt also hosts Independence Group's Stockman volcanogenic massive sulphide deposit in Victoria, which has total resources of 12.69 million tonnes at 2.1% copper, 4.4% zinc, 0.7% lead, 39 parts per million (ppm) silver and 1ppm gold.

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