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Australian battery minerals explorer, Firetail Resources Limited (Firetail or the Company) (ASX: FTL) is pleased to provide a summary of its activities for the three month period ending 30 June 2023.
Highlights
- Detailed mapping at the Johnson Well, Yalgoo Lithium Project confirmed continuation of fertile pegmaties along strike to the northwest of Johnson Well lepidolite mine.
- Follow-up drilling campaign commenced with a planned drill program of ~1,000m of reverse circulation (RC) drilling.
- Drilling at Mt Slopeaway exceeded historical Ni and Co assay results to confirm JORC 2012 Inferred Resource Estimate1 (MRE) of 4Mt @ 1% Ni, 0.2% Co, 1% Mn.
- Planning of follow-up program for Mt Slopeaway in advanced stage, aimed at improving existing MRE.
- Subsequent to the end of quarter, Firetail signed a binding terms sheet for acquisition of the Picha and Charaque Copper Projects in Peru.
- Several drill‐ready targets across the Picha Copper‐Silver Project area identified in review of previous exploration data.
- The Company is fully funded to progress exploration activities across its projects on completion with firm commitments from sophisticated investors for the Placement of a total of up to $5,000,000.
Commenting on the June Quarter, Firetail's Executive Chairman, Brett Grosvenor, said:
“This has been a very busy quarter for the Firetail team, with exploration activities progressing across our Australian Projects.
“We are very pleased with the commencement of drilling at the Johnson Well target within the Yalgoo Lithium Project, on the back of positive rock chip sampling. The team is looking forward to gaining a better understanding of this prospective pegmatite system.
“The Board is very happy with the receipt of eagerly awaited results from our Mount Slopeaway Nickel-Cobalt Project. These results confirmed the historical grades and we see lots of unexplored potential for our follow-up drill program.
“However, the highlight of the quarter, is the opportunity for Firetail in Peru, where we believe the acquisition of the Picha Copper Project presents large-scale resource potential in an existing mining province. The experienced exploration team is well-progressed with the due diligence planning so that we may start to define this opportunity for our shareholders.”
Yalgoo-Dalgaranga Lithium Project
Geological Mapping Johnson Well2
Detailed geological mapping completed during the quarter confirmed continuation of fertile pegmatites along strike to the northwest of the Johnson Well lepidolite mine. The system extends to the west-northwest where it becomes concealed under colluvial and alluvial cover (See Figure 1).
Figure 1: Yalgoo Project, Johnson Well Area – geology and rock chip sample locations
The Johnson Well pegmatite is intruded into mafic amphibolites, mostly basalt and dolerite. The pegmatite crops out along a northwest-southeast strike for approximately 1,050m, of which at least 100m is within Firetail tenure. NE-trending quartz veins have cross-cut and displaced the pegmatite into at least four major segments. Quartz veins are also observed sub-parallel to the pegmatite vein system and are also observed to lense into pegmatites. The pegmatite system outcrops across the old mine area with varying amounts of zinnwaldite and lepidolite observed (See Figure 2).
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This article includes content from Firetail Resources 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.
Geophysics Reveal Further Highly Prospective Targets at Mt Oxide Project
HIGHLIGHTS
- Three MIMDAS Induced Polarisation (IP) and Magnetotelluric (MT) lines at the historic Mt Gordon Copper Mine and Aquila prospect have revealed multiple unexplored geophysical targets with similar signatures to the Vero Cu-Ag-Co resource at Mt Oxide.
- Mt Gordon – Three new shallow and untested anomalies, similar to the Vero resource, have been identified and are partially coincident with historic drilling intersections, including 1.9m @ 3.0% Cu from 106m downhole in ECM11.
- Aquila –Chargeability highs of 15mV/V from two MIMDAS lines spaced 85m apart are coincident with mapped iron oxide-rich breccias which returned up to 0.94% Cu in rock chip samples2.
- A 20m wide, shallow highly chargeable anomaly associated with a 150m long trend of fault breccias with anomalous Cu +/- Ag-As-Bi and no previous drilling.
- A 20m wide and up to 25m deep +25mV/V chargeability and <250ohm.m conductivity anomaly, un-drill tested and correlating with a Dorman trending structure 80m below surface.
- Next Steps
- The geophysical survey is nearing completion with processing pending on Ivena North and an additional line being undertaken at Camp Gossans to test the strike extent of the anomaly at Camp Gossans and the new Black Marlin target3.
- True North Copper’s Exploration team are currently sampling recently identified mineralised structures at Aquila, Rhea and Black Marlin.
- The new geophysics will be integrated with ongoing mapping and surface geochemical sampling campaigns to identify and prioritise targets for future drill campaigns.
- Heritage clearance and access planning for drilling has commenced.
COMMENT
True North Copper’s Managing Director, Bevan Jones said:
“Our geophysical survey at Mt Oxide has revealed several new, highly prospective targets that share similar characteristics with our high-grade Vero deposit. The results of this survey, which has been supported by a Queensland Government CEI Grant, have uncovered significant anomalies at both the historic Mt Gordon Copper Mine and Aquila prospect. These results are in addition to the positive results at Vero and Camp Gossans announced in August. With these exciting developments, we’re optimistic about expanding our exploration footprint and identifying additional drill targets. The continued integration of geophysics, mapping, and sampling will be key to advancing our future exploration programs at Mt Oxide, including the design of the next phase of drilling.”
Figure 1. Location of the Mt Oxide Project, within context of Mt Isa Inlier.
Mt Oxide MIMDAS Survey Results Summary
In July 2024, TNC announced it had commenced its leading edge MIMDAS Induced Polarisation (IP), Resistivity and Magnetotellurics (MT) geophysical survey (MIMDAS survey) at Mt Oxide4. Partial funding of $300k was granted to TNC in Round 8 of the Collaborative Exploration Initiative (CEI) to undertake the survey (Figure 6).
The MIMDAS survey has aimed to identify potential sulphide mineralisation developed below numerous leached gossan zones and build an improved understanding of the regional scale structural and geological architecture. Two previously reported lines identified chargeability anomalies correlating with mineralisation in the Vero resource and a series of untested anomalies including a chargeability anomaly 1km east of Vero, and two chargeability high responses at Camp Gossans3 beneath outcropping breccias with similar surface geochemical signatures to the Esperanza Deposit5. The coincidence of anomalies directly associated with the Vero resource highlights the applicability of MIMDAS to target copper-silver mineralisation within the Mt Oxide District.
Three additional lines have recently been completed, including two lines 85m apart for 2.3 line-kms over the highly prospective Aquila prospect and one line for 1.5 line-kms over the historic Mt Gordon Copper Mine (Figure 2).
At Aquila, the survey has identified two (2) chargeability responses in the Mount Gordon Fault Zone and the Dorman fault trend, and one conductivity response below a geochemically anomalous fault breccia.
At Mt Gordon, the survey has identified four (4) chargeability responses in the Mount Gordon Fault Zone and in resistive sandstone over a 600m wide chargeability trend.
The geophysical survey is nearing completion with processing pending on Ivena North and an additional line at Camp Gossans, 150m northeast of the line completed in August that returned a very high-order chargeability anomaly coincident with mapped Gossans and defined the new Black Marlin Target3.
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This article includes content from True North Copper, 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.
BHP and CBE Sign Letter of Intent to Explore for Tier 1 Copper-Silver Deposits in Botswana
The Proposed Transaction underscores Cobre's confidence in the potential for its projects to host Tier 1 copper-silver deposits. A partnership with BHP would provide the exploration scale and expertise to maximise our chances of making significant new discoveries on our basin margin exploration ground while retaining 100% ownership of our Ngami and Okavango Copper Projects which are excluded from the Proposed Transaction.
The Proposed Transaction is subject to approval and execution of formal binding documents (Definitive Agreements) and the completion of BHP's due diligence investigations within the exclusivity period. Final details of the Proposed Transaction will be released to the market following completion of the long-form documents.
Commenting on the Proposed Transaction, Adam Wooldridge, Cobre’s Chief Executive Officer, said:
“Successful negotiation and completion of this significant transaction with BHP, one of the world’s leading mining companies, will be a major moment in time for Cobre as a company. Participating in the BHP 2024 Xplor cohort has provided the opportunity to do a belt scale review of the Kalahari Copper Belt, culminating with the collection of seismic data over the prospective northern margin of the belt. The Proposed Transaction with BHP would allow us to fully fund our follow-on exploration programmes and focus on discovering the Tier 1 deposits we believe may be hosted in our Kitlanya West and East Projects.
Independently, Cobre will continue advancing its 100% owned in-situ copper recovery development at Ngami – with a scoping study due in early October - along with further drilling at Cobre’s 100% owned Okavango project. This combined strategy provides exposure to potential Tier 1 discoveries, a development opportunity at Ngami and short-term discoveries on our Okavango project.”
A locality map illustrating the project locations is provided in Figure 1.
Figure 1. Locality map illustrating the position of Cobre’s project areas. Green licenses are relevant tothe Proposed Transaction, dark grey licenses will be run independently by Cobre.
Cobre will continue to provide shareholders with further updates on material developments in respect of the Proposed Transaction.
This ASX release was authorised on behalf of the Cobre Board by: Adam Wooldridge, Chief Executive Officer.
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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.