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Cobre Limited (ASX: CBE, Cobre or Company) is pleased to announce that CBE, and certain wholly owned subsidiaries (also Cobre), have executed an Earn-In Agreement (Transaction) with a wholly owned subsidiary of BHP Group Ltd (BHP) under which BHP will provide up to US$25 million (~A$40m) for exploration expenditure for Cobre's Kitlanya East and Kitlanya West Copper Projects (Kitlanya Projects) and be granted the right to earn a 75% interest in the Kitlanya Projects, located on the northern and southern basin margins respectively of the Kalahari Copper Belt (KCB) in Botswana. The Transaction is a result of Cobre's successful participation in the 2024 BHP Xplor program which also provided funding for the recently completed seismic survey on the Kitlanya West Project (see ASX announcement 22 August 2024).
Highlights
- The Transaction comprises the following key funding terms (detailed in Schedule 1):
- A minimum of US$5 million of committed funding to be paid to Cobre within 2 years of the commencement date with a planned budget of US$7m (A$11m) for exploration expenditure for the Kitlanya Projects starting in April 2025; and
- BHP can earn a 75% interest in the Kitlanya Projects by funding US$25 million (inclusive of the initial US$5 million) for exploration expenditure for the Kitlanya Projects.
- Cobre Botswana will be appointed operator during the earn-in phase and will be entitled to a management fee of no less than US$250,000 per annum.
- Upon commencement of the 75:25 joint venture, BHP may provide a loan to Cobre to fund Cobre's portion of joint venture expenditure up until the final investment decision.
- An additional payment of up to US$10 million, calculated at $5/tonne contained copper, is payable to Cobre upon the declaration of a maiden JORC Compliant Mineral Resource (JORC) at the Kitlanya Projects.
- If the Transaction is terminated during the Earn-In Phase and BHP has funded at least US$20 million for exploration expenditure, BHP will be entitled to a 2.0% net smelter royalty in respect of the Kitlanya Projects. Cobre may, in certain circumstances, buy back 50% of this royalty for an amount equal to the aggregate of exploration expenditure funded by BHP at the time of electing to exercise the buy-back.
- The Transaction does not cover Cobre’s flagship Ngami and Okavango Copper Projects which Cobre will continue to operate and advance independently.
The Transaction underscores Cobre's confidence in the potential for its projects to host Tier 1 copper- silver deposits. A partnership with BHP provides the exploration funding, scale and expertise to maximise Cobre's chances of making significant new discoveries on our basin margin exploration ground while retaining 100% ownership of its Ngami and Okavango Copper Projects.
The planned work programme for the initial US$7m includes several deep (~1km) diamond holes combined with active 2D seismic survey designed to assess key components of the Mineral System required for Tier 1 copper deposit formation. Mobilisation for the first phase of drilling, which will test targets identified in the 2024 seismic programme at Kitlanya West, is scheduled for April 2025.
Tim O’Connor, BHP Group Exploration Officer said:
"We are thrilled to continue our partnership with one of the BHP Xplor alumni, Cobre Limited, through this agreement. This collaboration reflects our excitement for the exploration potential in Botswana and underscores the high standard of partnerships we see coming out of the BHP Xplor program. The Kitlanya Projects in Botswana represent an exciting opportunity to uncover Tier 1 copper-silver deposits, and we are pleased to contribute our expertise and resources to this venture.”
Commenting on the Transaction, Adam Wooldridge, Cobre’s Chief Executive Officer, said:
“This significant transaction with BHP, one of the world’s leading mining companies, is a major moment in time for Cobre as a company as well as a testament to the success of BHP’s Xplor programme. The partnership with BHP will provide us with the funding and support necessary to implement a technology-driven work programme designed to discover the Tier 1 deposits we believe may be hosted in our Kitlanya East and West Projects.
Independently, Cobre will continue advancing its Ngami and Okavango copper Projects.This combined strategy provides exposure to potential Tier 1 discoveries, a development opportunity at Ngami and short-term discoveries on our Okavango project.”
Commenting on the transaction, Martin Holland Chairman of the Cobre board, said:
“First and foremost, I would like to extend my gratitude to BHP for their exceptional efforts in the 2024 BHP Xplor program, which aims to foster bold thinking and elevate global exploration to new heights.
I would also like to thank the Cobre Board and team, especially our CEO Adam Wooldridge and Technical Lead Thomas Krebs, for their tireless dedication throughout the year-and-a-half-long process that has led us to this point and for their efforts in successfully finalising this transaction with BHP.”
Figure 1. Locality map illustrating the position of Cobre’s project areas. Green licenses are relevant tothe Transaction, dark grey licenses will be run, and are owned, independently by Cobre.
Geology, Mineralisation and Exploration Target
Mineralisation in the KCB is sediment-hosted and structurally controlled, with copper-silver mineralisation most frequently hosted along the redox contact between the basal units of the reduced marine sedimentary rocks of the D’Kar Formation and oxidised clastic sedimentary red bed units of the Kuke and Ngwako Pan Formations and the underlying volcanosedimentary Kgwebe Formation. Of particular interest for Tier 1 deposits are the tight, upright folds which offer ideal trap-sites for upgrading of copper-silver mineralisation and formation of large deposits. These folds are typically bounded by district-scale shears (often with evidence of copper anomalism) which would provide the necessary plumbing architecture for movement of copper-rich fluids during basin formation and subsequent closure and deformation. A schematic illustration of the preserved fold hinge model is illustrated in Figure 2. The upcoming exploration programme will focus on testing these buried anticline hinge zones along with assessing primary basin architecture, source rocks, fluid pathways and trap-site mechanisms.
Figure 2: Schematic illustrating of the target model compared with typical settings for known KCB deposits.
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This article includes content from Cobre Limited, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
Nobel Resources Announces Additional Results at the Cuprita Project, Atacama Region, Chile
Nobel Resources Corp. (TSX – V: NBLC) (the “Company” or “Nobel”) is pleased to provide an update on its ongoing exploration at the Cuprita Project (the “Project” or “Cuprita”) in Atacama Region, Chile. Following the recent identification by Nobel geologists of a leach cap with characteristics strongly associated with porphyry copper-(gold) deposits in the region at Cuprita, including associated highly anomalous copper in soils and bedrock, the Company has additionally confirmed:
- the existence of an IP chargeability and resistivity anomaly typical of porphyry copper deposits in the region; and
- the presence of highly anomalous copper chip samples from outcrops associated with the leach cap.
The geological features being identified by Nobel field work at Cuprita demonstrates the Project is highly prospective.
According to Vern Arseneau, COO of Nobel, “After only a few short weeks in the field, Nobel Geologists have identified key characteristics of a shallow mineralized porphyry system at Cuprita. The leach cap, IP anomaly, significant copper bearing rock chips and the copper in soil anomaly are all located adjacent to a ground magnetic low. These traits are situated near the intersection of a major north-northeast striking fault structure with numerous northwest striking quartz veins with copper oxides. Intersecting major faults is a common, if not essential, structural control for the emplacement of copper-gold porphyries in the region (Figure 3). This is essentially the complete suite of important indicators used when identifying productive porphyry copper systems, combined with a leach cap in one of the most important porphyry copper belts globally indicate excellent potential for a mineralized porphyry deposit at the Cuprita project.”
The IP survey was carried out by Argali Geophysical SA during November 2018 and consisted of three E-W lines across the area of the recently identified leach cap. Survey parameters were 100m spaced dipoles with an estimated depth penetration of 700m at N=27. The top of the IP anomaly, based on this data, is estimated to be approximately 200meters below surface. (Figure 3; line 7055700N). All three lines exhibit a similar chargeability/resistivity response and the anomaly remains open to the North and South.
The chargeability anomalies from 7 to 9 mV/V are in line with many of the porphyry copper deposits near Inca de Oro which are notoriously low in pyrite and therefore in chargeability. Chargeability of less than 10 mV/V has been observed at many deposits local to Cuprita. Similarly, field observations by Nobel geologists have also confirmed the general lack of pyrite in altered rocks at Cuprita.
Rock chip sampling of mineralized structures associated with the leach cap, anomalous soil samples and the ground magnetic anomalies returned highly anomalous copper values ranging from 0.25 to 3.46% Cu. Many of the rock samples contain remnant copper sulfides, such as Chalcocite, Chalcopyrite and locally Bornite (Figure 1). Additionally, a sample taken 500m to the northeast, where QZ vein stockwork with disseminated chrysocolla outcrops with a grade of 2.06% Cu (Figure 2) signifying the potential for a large extensive system.
Figure 1: Rock sample with Chalcopyrite and Bornite grading 1.36% copper associated with the leach cap.
Figure 2: Sample of copper-rich stockwork of quartz and chrysocolla grading 2.06% copper from 500 meters northeast of previous sample.
According to Larry Guy, CEO, “Nobel geologists believe that this newly identified geological / geochemical evidence along with the geophysical compilation points to potential for a large mineralized porphyry at shallow depth covering the area between the anomalous soil results to the South and extending more than 2 kilometers North to the previously reported ground magnetic lows. (Figures 3 and 4; map and cross section and Figure 5 conceptual geological model).
Geologically, Cuprita is part of the Metallogenic Paleocene Porphyry Copper Belt that hosts several major porphyry copper deposits, such as El Salvador, Cerro Colorado, Spence, Sierra Gorda, Fortuna, as well as several gold deposits. Recent field work at Cuprita has focused the targeting for forthcoming drill programs.
Figure 3: Compilation map showing the location of the extensive leached cap (lithocap) and associated structures, outcrop samples, quartz-copper veins, soil geochemical anomalies, tourmaline breccias associated with a magnetic low, that comprise the key criteria for a mineralized porphyry target.
Figure 4. Schematic Section showing the Conceptual Model of the Porphyry in Cuprita.
Figure 5. Conceptual model for the Cuprita porphyry target (modified after Halley et al., 2015) The key geological components for the classic mineralized Andean porphyry model have been identified at the Cuprita target.
Qualified Person
The scientific and technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. David Gower, P.Geo., as defined by National Instrument 43-101 of the Canadian Securities Administrators. Mr. Gower is a consultant of Nobel and is not considered independent of the Company.
About Nobel
Nobel Resources is a Canadian resource company focused on identifying and developing prospective mineral projects. The Company has a team with a strong background of exploration success.
For further information, please contact:
Lawrence Guy
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
+1 647-276-0533
Vincent Chen
Investor Relations
vchen@nobel-resources.com
www.nobel-resources.com
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Information
This press release contains “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, without limitation, the mineralization and prospectivity of the Project, the Company’s ability to explore and develop the Project, the Company’s ability to obtain adequate financing and the Company’s future plans. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “plans”, “expects” or “does not expect”, “is expected”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “estimates”, “forecasts”, “intends”, “anticipates” or “does not anticipate”, or “believes”, or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will be taken”, “occur” or “be achieved”. Forward- looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Nobel, as the case may be, to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to: general business, economic, competitive, geopolitical and social uncertainties; the actual results of current exploration activities; risks associated with operation in foreign jurisdictions; ability to successfully integrate the purchased properties; foreign operations risks; and other risks inherent in the mining industry. Although Nobel has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Nobel does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
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Empire Metals Limited Announces Completion of MRE Drilling Campaign
- 180 drill holes completed at the Thomas prospect, comprising:
- 140 Air Core ('AC') drill holes for a total of 6,360 metres;
- 40 Reverse Circulation ('RC') drill holes for a total of 3,776 metres;
- Total metres drilled: 10,136
- Drilling was conducted on a systematic 400m by 200m grid covering over 1,352 hectares and was designed to support the initial MRE as well as providing key data for economic evaluation studies.
- The Thomas Prospect was selected as the basis for the maiden MRE due to the extensive, thick and high-grade titanium mineralisation hosted within the broad, in-situ weathered zone.
- This campaign marks a major milestone in the development of Pitfield, laying the foundation for a globally significant MRE and enabling the identification of near-surface, high grade zones to support the development of mine planning and ore scheduling as part of upcoming economic evaluation studies.
Shaun Bunn, Managing Director, said: "We are very pleased to have completed this important drilling campaign on time, on budget and without safety incident. With drilling now complete, our focus turns to resource modelling and progressing Pitfield towards its maiden Mineral Resource Estimate, which is a key milestone as we look to bring this globally significant titanium project to commercialisation, maintaining the ambitious development schedule we have delivered over the past two years."
MRE Drilling Programme
With the completion of the current drill campaign, the largest undertaken by the Company to date, total drilling at Pitfield has now surpassed 32,000m across 382 holes, providing a robust foundation for geological modelling, resource definition (refer Figure 1) and initial economic evaluation work.
Since commencing the maiden drilling campaign at Pitfield on 27 March 2023 Empire has completed 382 drill holes for a total 32,265 metres comprising:
- 17 Diamond drill holes for 2,704 m
- 140 RC drill holes for 18,764 m
- 225 AC drill holes for 10,797 m.
Figure 1. Grey-scale magnetics overlain by airborne gravity data showing RC, AC and diamond drillhole collar locations and JORC Exploration Target areas.
May-June 2025 Campaign
The location and spacing of the current RC and AC drillholes were designed, with the input of mineral resource consultants Snowden-Optiro, to provide the necessary drill assay data density to allow the preparation of an MRE at the Thomas Prospect.
The completed drill campaign consisted of 140 AC drillholes, on a 400 x 200m drillhole-spaced grid with an average forecast depth of 45.4m, for a total of 6,360 metres, and 40 RC drillholes within the AC drilling grid, to an average depth of 94.4m, for a total of 3,776 metres. The overall drillhole grid extends 5.2km by 2.6km and totals an area of 1,352 hectares (refer Figure 2).
Figure 2. RC and AC drill hole collar locations within the Thomas Prospect priority area.
During the campaign all drill holes were subsampled on a 2m interval, resulting in over 5,000 drill samples being collected, logged by our on-site team of geologists and then prepared for shipment to Intertek's Perth based analytical laboratory. As of the end of June all drill hole and QA/QC samples have been delivered to Intertek for geochemical analysis and assaying.
The Pitfield Titanium Project
Located within the Mid-West region of Western Australia, near the northern wheatbelt town of Three Springs, the Pitfield titanium project lies 313km north of Perth and 156km southeast of Geraldton, the Mid West region's capital and major port. Western Australia is ranked as one of the top mining jurisdictions in the world according to the Fraser Institute's Investment Attractiveness Index published in 2023, and has mining-friendly policies, stable government, transparency, and advanced technology expertise. Pitfield has existing connections to port (both road & rail), HV power substations, and is nearby to natural gas pipelines as well as a green energy hydrogen fuel hub, which is under planning and development (refer Figure 2).
Figure 2. Pitfield Project Location showing theMid-West Region Infrastructure and Services
Competent Person Statement
The technical information in this report that relates to the Pitfield Project has been compiled by Mr Andrew Faragher, an employee of Empire Metals Australia Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Empire. Mr Faragher is a Member of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Mr Faragher has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity being undertaken 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'. Mr Faragher consents to the inclusion in this release of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.
Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure
Certain information contained in this announcement would have been deemed inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014, as incorporated into UK law by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, until the release of this announcement.
**ENDS**
For further information please visit www.empiremetals.co.uk or contact:
About Empire Metals Limited
Empire Metals is an AIM-listed and OTCQB-traded exploration and resource development company (LON:EEE) with a primary focus on developing Pitfield, an emerging giant titanium project in Western Australia.
The high-grade titanium discovery at Pitfield is of unprecedented scale, with airborne surveys identifying a massive, coincident gravity and magnetics anomaly extending over 40km by 8km by 5km deep. Drill results have indicated excellent continuity in grades and consistency of the mineralised beds and confirm that the sandstone beds hold the higher-grade titanium dioxide (TiO₂) values within the interbedded succession of sandstones, siltstones and conglomerates. The Company is focused on two key prospects (Cosgrove and Thomas), which have been identified as having thick, high-grade, near-surface, bedded TiO₂ mineralisation, each being over 7km in strike length.
An Exploration Target* for Pitfield was declared in 2024, covering the Thomas and Cosgrove mineral prospects, and was estimated to contain between 26.4 to 32.2 billion tonnes with a grade range of 4.5 to 5.5% TiO2. Included within the total Exploration Target* is a subset that covers the weathered sandstone zone, which extends from surface to an average vertical depth of 30m to 40m and is estimated to contain between 4.0 to 4.9 billion tonnes with a grade range of 4.8 to 5.9% TiO2.
The Exploration Target* covers an area less than 20% of the overall mineral system at Pitfield which demonstrates the potential for significant further upside.
Empire is now accelerating the economic development of Pitfield, with a vision to produce a high-value titanium metal or pigment quality product at Pitfield, to realise the full value potential of this exceptional deposit.
The Company also has two further exploration projects in Australia; the Eclipse Project and the Walton Project in Western Australia, in addition to three precious metals projects located in a historically high-grade gold producing region of Austria.
*The potential quantity and grade of the Exploration Target is conceptual in nature. There has been insufficient exploration to estimate a Mineral Resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the estimation of a Mineral Resource.
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com
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Loyal to Acquire the High-Grade Highway Reward Copper Gold Mine
Key Highlights
- Loyal secures binding option to acquire the Highway Reward Copper Gold Mine in Queensland, Australia - one of the world’s highest-grade copper mines, with past production totalling 3.65Mt at 5.7% Cu and 260kt at 4.5 g/t Au.
- The acquisition is the first step in Loyal’s 2025 Strategic Plan to broaden its critical minerals portfolio into copper.
- No exploration has been conducted on the granted mining leases since operations ceased in July 2005 despite a ~680% increase in copper prices and a ~1,256% increase in gold prices since the 1997 feasibility study.
- Significant increase in copper and gold prices, combined with the previous exclusion of gold in sulphides from the mine plan, highlights the enhanced remnant copper-gold potential.
- Exploration potential for new discoveries both along strike and at depth, as previous mining only reached depths of 220 metres for open pit and 390 metres for underground operations, with limited exploration beyond mined zones.
- With $4.4 million in funding, Loyal is well-positioned to revisit the high-grade Highway Reward Copper Gold Mine by deploying modern exploration techniques. With global initiatives to enhance energy grids and no USA tariffs on Australian copper, the outlook for copper is strong and unencumbered.
Loyal‘s Managing Director, Mr. Adam Ritchie, commented:
"We are thrilled to secure this incredibly rare opportunity for our current and future Loyal investors. The Highway Reward Copper Gold Mine, considered one of the highest-grade copper mines in the world, is now primed for a revisit after 20 years of dormancy.
The granted mining leases of the Highway Reward mine provide an amazing speed to market opportunity - especially when both copper and gold are near all-time highs. The short-term and long-term opportunities at Highway Reward are exciting, considering the significant growth in commodity prices since the 1997 feasibility study. Copper is driving our electric future and gold continues to play an important role in our global economy.
Whilst a lot has changed in the past 28 years, the unwavering demand for copper and gold has only intensified. This is truly an amazing opportunity to unlock and showcase the immense potential of this forgotten mine. With modern technology and innovative mining techniques, we believe the Highway Reward Copper Gold Mine will provide exceptional value and returns to our Loyal shareholders."
Figure 1 Highway Reward Copper Gold Mine: Located 37 km south of Charters Towers within the Mount Windsor Volcanic Belt. Accessible via an all-weather highway, 172 km from the Port of Townsville, Queensland, Australia.
The Highway Reward Copper Gold Mine is located only 37 km from the active mining town of Charters Towers in Queensland, Australia, within the Mount Windsor Volcanic Belt. This area is renowned for its rich history in copper and gold mining, with strong social license support for mining activities. It features large-scale mining operations such as, Newmont’s 3.2 Moz Mt Leyshon gold mine and Yuxin Holding’s 3.4 Moz Pajingo gold mine. The region is close to the polymetallic, Thalanga Processing Plant and the Mount Carlton Processing Plant, with road and rail to Glencore’s Mount Isa copper hub, Townsville copper refinery and the Port of Townsville.
With the growth in commodity prices and advancements in exploration and mining technologies, the potential for remnant copper-gold mining has significantly improved. Previous mining operations targeted copper within chalcopyrite, while gold associated with both chalcopyrite and pyrite was excluded from the mine plan. With lower copper equivalent cut-off grades (copper & gold), higher continuity of copper-gold can be drill tested to demonstrate the reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction and mineral resource potential.
Graph 1: Highway Reward Copper Gold Mine - mining ceased in July 2005: 28 Years of Commodity Growth
Significant potential will be assessed and areas tested for copper-gold extensions to subvertical trends, that may exist below current mining levels at the Highway Reward Copper-Gold Mine. The previously mined, copper-gold rich pipes will also be assessed for drill testing along strike (Figure 2). Previous mining and surface mapping geological observations illustrate that high- grade copper-gold pipes have been identified in dacite, rhyolite, and volcaniclastic host rocks, therefore strong prospectivity exists for discovering additional pipes beyond the historically mined zones in all rock types on the property, except recent overlying sediments that conceal the basement host rocks (Figure 2). No modern advanced geophysical techniques or data processing methods have yet been applied to assess this potential.
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This article includes content from Loyal Metals Limited, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
