Metals Australia Ltd

The First of Three New Drilling Programs Underway in Major Australian Gold & Critical Minerals Provinces

Drilling will test priority targets identified along strike from major gold and critical minerals discoveries and mines in Western Australia and the Northern Territory

Metals Australia Ltd (ASX: MLS) (“the Company”) is pleased to announce that drilling has commenced testing the first of three key exploration projects in Australia1,8, which are highly prospective for gold and critical minerals. All three projects are located along strike from major mineral deposits in world-class mineral fields (see Figure 1).


  • An aircore drilling program of up to 6,000m is underway testing gold, lithium-pegmatite and Ni-Cu- Co targets across the Warrambie Project in WA’s northwest Pilbara1. Warrambie straddles the Scholl Shear Zone, which is analogous to the Mallina Shear – host to the nearby, 10Moz, Hemi gold deposit3. The drilling will also test for major lithium-pegmatites, being located just 10km east of the Andover lithium discovery2,5.
  • An up to 120-hole aircore drilling program is permitted to follow an extensive soil sampling and gravity program underway at Big Bell North in WA’s world-class Murchison Gold Province, testing greenstone-splay fault hosted gold targets identified from interpretation of imagery from the recently completed aeromagnetic survey1. Big Bell North is located along strike to the northeast of the 5Moz Big Bell gold deposit4.
  • Approvals imminent for a substantial drilling program at the Warrego East copper-gold project within the Tennant Creek Mineral Field, which historically produced a world-class 25Mt @ 6.9g/t Au and 2.8% Cu6. Warrego East is directly east of Warrego mine, which produced 6.75Mt @ 1.9% Cu and 1.8g/t Au6. The drilling will test a series of gravity and magnetics defined ironstone hosted copper-gold targets within a corridor which links the Warrego Mine with the Gecko and Orlando copper-gold deposits6,7.

Metals Australia CEO Paul Ferguson commented:

“2024 is shaping up as the most active and exciting period in Metals Australia’s history - with the three aggressive gold and critical minerals drilling and exploration programs launched at Warrambie, Big Bell North and Warrego East in Australia being advanced in parallel with our two gold and critical minerals programs underway in Canada.

“Critically, our projects are all located in world-class mineralised provinces along strike from major discoveries and historical mines.

We believe all our projects have potential for major new discoveries and we look forward to a period of strong news flow and results throughout the remainder of 2024 and beyond - as we look to unlock their potential and build value for MLS shareholders.”

Figure 1: Metals Australia key Critical Minerals and gold exploration projects in world-class mineral terranes (adapted from Geoscience Australia, Australian Mineral Deposits)

Warrambie Lithium-Pegmatite, Gold and Ni-Cu-Co Targets, Northwest Pilbara, WA

An extensive aircore drilling program has commenced testing bedrock lithium-pegmatite targets identified at Warrambie as well as gold and Ni-Cu-Co targets in previously un-explored areas under shallow cover.

Up to 50 aircore holes (up to 6,000m) are being drilled to test targets generated through interpretation of previously acquired detailed aeromagnetics and detailed gravity imagery over the Warrambie project (see Figure 2), including:

  • Lithium pegmatite targets associated with northeast-trending fault corridors associated with gravity lows which intersect magnetic mafic intrusive rocks1,8. This is an analogous geological setting to the neighbouring Andover lithium pegmatite discovery (drilling intersections of up to 209m @ 1.42% Li2O2) – which is associated with a 5km wide, northeast-trending structural corridor in mafic intrusive rocks (Figure 2).
  • Orogenic gold (and Ni-Cu-Co sulphide) targets associated with magnetic anomalies in the Scholl shear which extend west of the Sabre Resources Ltd (ASX:SBR) Sherlock Bay Project, which hosts a 100,000t Ni-Cu-Co sulphide resource9, where recent drilling produced a significant gold (Ni-Cu-Co) intersection mineralisation (8m @ 1.07 g/t Au, 0.3% Ni, 0.11% Cu in SBDD01010) - see Figure 1. The Scholl Shear is parallel and analogous to the Mallina shear which hosts the world-class, >10Moz, Hemi Gold Deposit (DeGrey Mining, ASX:DEG)3.


Click here for the full ASX Release

This article includes content from Metals Australia Ltd, 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.

MLS:AU
Metals Australia

Metals Australia Investor Kit

  • Corporate info
  • Insights
  • Growth strategies
  • Upcoming projects

GET YOUR FREE INVESTOR KIT

The Conversation (0)
Metals Australia

Metals Australia


Keep reading...Show less

High-quality graphite project with accelerated development pathway and outstanding portfolio of exploration properties, highly prospective for lithium, gold and copper-gold discoveries.

Metals Australia Limited Invites Shareholders and Investment Community to visit them at Booth 2333 at PDAC 2025 in Toronto, March 2-5

Metals Australia Limited Invites Shareholders and Investment Community to visit them at Booth 2333 at PDAC 2025 in Toronto, March 2-5

Visit Metals Australia Limited (ASX: MLS) at Booth #2333 at the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada's (PDAC) Convention at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre (MTCC) from Sunday, March 2 to Wednesday, March 5, 2025.

About Metals Australia Limited

News Provided by Newsfile via QuoteMedia

Keep reading...Show less
Lac Carheil Expanded Footprint, Drilling Fully Permitted

Lac Carheil Expanded Footprint, Drilling Fully Permitted

Metals Australia (MLS:AU) has announced Lac Carheil Expanded Footprint, Drilling Fully Permitted

Download the PDF here.

Galan Lithium

Galan Declines AU$240M Bid for Argentina Projects

Galan Lithium (ASX:GLN) has rejected a US$150 million (AU$240 million) cash bid from China’s Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co and France’s Renault Group to acquire its Hombre Muerto West and Candelas lithium brine projects in Argentina, The West Australian reports.

Keep reading...Show less
Text 'Lithium' overlaid on stock chart with a globe in the background.

Top 7 Global Lithium Stocks in 2025

The lithium market faced continued pressure in Q1 2025 as oversupply and weaker-than-expected demand pushed prices to a four-year low, with the lithium carbonate CIF North Asia price dipping below US$9,550 per metric ton.

The broad market decline led many analysts to speculate that the market had bottomed and a rebound was imminent. This was further supported by production cuts in China and Australia aimed at stabilizing supply.

Despite near-term challenges, long-term prospects remain strong, highlighted by Rio Tinto’s (ASX:RIO,NYSE:RIO,LSE:RIO) AU$6.7 billion acquisition of Arcadium Lithium, the company formed by the merger of Allkem and Livent.

Keep reading...Show less
Green battery with recycling symbol among many silver batteries.

Livium to Advance Battery Recycling with AU$850,000 Government Grant

Livium ( ASX:LIT) subsidiary Envirostream Australia said on Wednesday (April 2) that it has executed an AU$850,000 grant funding agreement with the Western Australian government.

The grant will partially fund the development of Envirostream’s battery-recycling facility in Western Australia.

The money is being provided via an electronic waste (e-waste) infrastructure grants program, an initiative designed to support a statewide ban on sending e-waste to landfills that began on July 1, 2024.

Keep reading...Show less
Blue battery with Australian flag design on a wooden surface.

4 Best-performing ASX Lithium Stocks of 2025

Global demand for lithium presents a significant opportunity for Australia, which is home to many ASX lithium mining stocks as the world's top lithium producer.

Australia’s abundant lithium reserves and strong mining sector, position the country as a key player in the battery value chain into the 2030s. However, rapid electric vehicle (EV) market growth projections drove increased lithium mining rates, leading to a global surplus.

Against that backdrop, Australia’s lithium sector faced headwinds in Q1 2025 due to falling global lithium prices and continued market oversupply.

Keep reading...Show less
A sack of US money.

California Touts US$540 Billion Salton Sea Lithium Discovery

Scientists have discovered an estimated US$540 billion worth of lithium beneath California’s Salton Sea, a finding that could reshape the global energy market and reduce US reliance on foreign lithium supply.

The Salton Sea, located in Southern California’s Imperial County, has long been considered an environmental concern due to its receding shoreline and rising air pollution.

Now, researchers funded by the US Department of Energy have confirmed the area holds approximately 18 million metric tons of lithium — far more than previous estimates of 4 million metric tons.

Keep reading...Show less
Lithium periodic symbol and Canadian flag.

Top 5 Canadian Lithium Stocks of 2025

The lithium market continued to battle headwinds during the first quarter of 2025 as residual oversupply weighed on prices, pushing them to a four year low.

Weaker-than-expected demand to start the year also added pressure to the oversupplied market, resulting in the lithium carbonate CIF North Asia price to fall below US$9,550 per metric ton, its lowest point since 2021.

Analysts have suggested the persistent downturn is the signaling of a market bottom. This theory is further supported by a projected production reduction that will help absorb market oversupply.

Keep reading...Show less
Metals Australia

Metals Australia Investor Kit

  • Corporate info
  • Insights
  • Growth strategies
  • Upcoming projects

GET YOUR FREE INVESTOR KIT

Latest Press Releases

Related News

×