The Conversation (0)
FMR Resources Limited (ASX:FMR) (FMR or Company) is pleased to announce it has entered into a conditional Binding Term Sheet giving it the right to earn up to a 60% interest in a highly prospective copper-gold-molybdenite project in central Chile (Transaction). The Company will joint venture (JV) into selected tenements (the JV Tenements or Concessions) within the Llahuin Project (Llahuin or the Project) held by Southern Hemisphere Mining Ltd (SUH) which overlie the Southern Porphyry Target.
Highlights
- Large Cu-Au-Mo porphyry target untested at depth
- Coincidental datasets suggest substantial copper porphyry system
- Shallow historic drilling confirms porphyry mineralisation above target
- Drilling of targets to commence early Q4 2025
- Oliver Kiddie joins FMR as Managing Director
- Firm commitments received for $2.2m capital raising at $0.16 through a placement to existing and new sophisticated investors
- Mark Creasy to join the FMR register as major shareholder
The Southern Porphyry JV gives FMR exposure to a potential Company-making discovery. Coincidental datasets captured across the Southern Porphyry target area suggest a large, untested copper porphyry system below historic exploration. With proven fertility along a ~6km corridor at Llahuin, including historic shallow copper porphyry mineralisation directly above the Southern Porphyry target, this JV delivers FMR drill-ready targets for Q4 2025. The Company looks forward to updating shareholders as we progress towards maiden drilling of these exciting targets.
In conjunction, FMR is pleased to announce the appointment of Oliver Kiddie as Managing Director. Mr Kiddie is a geologist with over 20 years’ experience across exploration, resource definition, project development, and production throughout Australia and internationally. He has extensive experience in base metal and gold exploration through senior management, executive, and directorship positions, including Dominion Mining, European Goldfields, the Creasy Group, and Legend Mining.
Oliver Kiddie said: “I am very excited to be joining the FMR team as the Company expands its exploration portfolio with the Llahuin Project in Chile. I look forward to leading the Company through the next stage of growth and working with the experienced SUH team as the compelling Southern Porphyry drill targets are tested in Q4 this year, with the clear aim of a Company-making discovery.”
Project Description
Porphyry-style Cu-Au-Mo mineralisation identified to date at the Llahuin Project is largely hosted in three main mineralised zones - the Central Porphyry Zone, Cerro do Oro and Ferrocarril, which occur along a +2.5 km N-S strike (open north and south, with a total strike length of up 6 km). These zones are coincident with a north-south trending valley, potentially reflecting weathering of more regressive units or a structure.
Figure 1. Oblique view of Southern Porphyry Target looking to WNW showing 3D inversion model resistivity shells from magnetotelluric data, Llahuin Project drilling to date and tenements forming the joint venture. Refer to Figures 6 and 7 for location and plan view, and Figure 5 for a sectional view.
Llahuin was initially acquired in July 2011 by SUH through an intermediary from Antofagasta plc. Drilling completed across the project to date comprises 296 holes for 64,503m with a total of 62 holes for 11,927m completed on the JV Tenements, of which 9,156m reports to the Ferrocarril zone and are therefore not relevant to the Southern Porphyry Target. Drilling has resulted in the delineation of Mineral Resources which do not form part of the JV and do not form part of the transaction (see Figures 1 and 7).
In addition to drilling SUH has completed extensive geochemical and geophysical surveys at Llahuin, including detailed magnetics (MAG), induced polarisation (IP), and magnetotellurics (MT). These datasets have indicated a “blind” porphyry-style target at the southern end of the Llahuin Project named the Southern Porphyry Target. This target is defined by a coincident magnetic anomaly, IP resistivity anomaly, and MT resistivity anomaly. The target is modelled as a circular feature 1.5km – 2km in diameter and centred approximately 1,000m below surface (see Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5).
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from FMR Resources, 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.
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.
