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Somerset Minerals Ltd (“Somerset” or the “Company”) (ASX:SMM) is pleased to announce the initial assay results from the maiden surface sampling campaign at its recently acquired Coppermine Project (the “Project”) in Canada.
- Initial assay results from maiden surface sampling program confirm wide-spread mineralisation
- Large representative rock samples were collected across Laphroaig, Jura and Oban districts
- At Laphroaig: High-grade copper over 500m strike, within a broader 2.0km trend, including:
- CMC0047: 51.96% Cu and 52.2g/t Ag
- CMC0042: 50.84% Cu and 65.3g/t Ag
- At Jura: High-grade copper over 5.0km strike, hosted within a major N-S trending fault, including:
- CMC0021: 19.10% Cu and 21.1g/t Ag
- CMC0101: 13.55% Cu and 24.3g/t Ag
- Maiden drill campaign scheduled to commence around 5th July focusing on Coronation C Jura
- Assay results for samples containing native copper are expected to be received in the next week
- Fully funded C fully permitted for high-impact maiden exploration drill campaign
- lanning underway for larger Phase-2 exploration program, including expanded drill campaign
Managing Director, Chris Hansen, commented,
“These are truly exceptional early results that speak to the scale, quality, and untapped potential of our Coppermine Project. To return grades of over 50% copper from surface samples — and to also return high-grade results from across multiple prospects — is a rare and exciting outcome. What’s even more compelling is the continuity of mineralisation we're seeing: over 500 metres at Laphroaig and more than 5.0 kilometres at Jura. This confirms the presence of an extensive, high-grade copper system, and supports the historic information we’re building on.
We are now entering a very exciting phase for Somerset. Our fully funded, fully permitted maiden drill campaign is set to commence in just over two weeks time, with walk-up targets defined by strong geophysical signatures and outcropping copper mineralisation. At Coronation, we’re targeting several high-priority IP anomalies supported by historical drill intercepts of up to 40 metres, while Jura and Laphroaig are shaping up as large-scale, structurally controlled, high-grade copper systems with district-scale potential. These early successes are the direct result of our methodical and targeted approach to exploration.
With a dominant landholding in one of the world’s last underexplored copper frontiers, drilling set to begin imminently and assays still outstanding for native copper sampling, we believe Somerset is uniquely positioned to potentially unlock a major new copper district.”
Click here for the full ASX release
This article includes content from Somerset Minerals 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.
SMM:AU
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.
Click here for the full ASX Release
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.
