The Conversation (0)
Miramar Resources Limited (ASX:M2R, “Miramar” or “the Company”) is pleased to advise that it has expanded its 100%-owned Bangemall Project in the Gascoyne Region of WA with the recent grant of Exploration Licence E52/4301, adjacent to the high-priority Mount Vernon Ni-Cu-PGE Project (Figure 1).
- New Exploration Licence granted adjacent to Mount Vernon Project
- Historic EM data highlights multiple anomalies and potential feeder dykes
- Ground EM and RC drilling planned for high-priority Mount Vernon targets
Miramar has a substantial landholding in the Bangemall region and believes there is potential for nickel (Ni), copper (Cu) and platinum group element (PGE) mineralisation related to Kulkatharra Dolerite sills, part of the Warakurna Large Igenous Province and the same age as the Nebo and Babel Ni-Cu deposits.
The new “Trouble Bore” Project contains a number of these dolerite sills, and potential feeder dykes, intruding into sediments of the Collier Basin but has never been effectively explored for Ni-Cu-PGE’s.
Miramar’s Executive Chairman, Mr Allan Kelly, said the Company was aiming to show “proof of concept” at Bangemall through the discovery of Ni-Cu-PGE sulphides, either in outcrop and/or through drilling.
“If we are successful at Mount Vernon, it opens up the entire Bangemall region as a new nickel province, one in which we have built a commanding land position,” he said.
Figure 1. Exploration Licence E52/4301 (“Trouble Bore”) in relation to Mount Vernon.
Trouble Bore
Exploration Licence E52/4301 (“Trouble Bore”) is located mostly within the Collier Basin and straddles the contact with the older Edmund Basin sediments within the Pingandy Shelf (Figure 1).
Across the southern two thirds of the tenement, the local geology is dominated by Kulkatharra Dolerite sills which intrude into sediments of the Collier Basin (Figure 2). The northwestern portion of the tenement is underlain by sediments of the Edmund Basin, also intruded by a dolerite sill.
Previous exploration is limited and sporadic and focussed mainly on exploration for sediment-hosted copper, lead and zinc during the 1990’s and early 2000’s. More recent exploration since 2009 focussed on the search for channel iron deposits (CID) by Rio Tinto Exploration in the period 2012-2014.
Rio Tinto flew a SkyTEM electromagnetic survey in 2013, with N-S survey lines and a relatively broad line spacing of 1000m, and subsequently drilled three RC holes within the area now covered by E52/4301.
The RC drilling failed to intersect CID mineralisation and Rio Tinto subsequently surrendered the tenements (WAMEX reports a100526, a104395 and a106023).
The SkyTEM data highlights EM anomalies coincident with the EW-trending sub-horizontal dolerite sills as well as two N-S trending anomalies which may represent sub-vertical feeder dykes linking the sills.
Feeder dykes are an important component of the “plumbing systems” associated with Ni-Cu-PGE deposits, as shown in Figure 3.
There is minimal reported surface geochemical data across the Project.
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Miramar 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.
M2R: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.
