Whaleshark IOCG Exploration Update

Miramar Resources Limited (ASX:M2R, “Miramar” or “the Company”) provides an update on exploration at the Company’s 100%-owned Whaleshark Project, in the Ashburton region of WA, where Miramar is exploring for Iron Oxide Copper Gold (IOCG) mineralisation beneath the Northern Carnarvon Basin.

• Bedrock copper sulphide mineralisation confirmed by XRF and assays
• Anomalous assay results up to 0.2% Cu and 0.11g/t Au
• Geochemical vectors towards potential IOCG mineralisation
• Further drilling planned following completion of heritage survey

The Company has recently received assays from the initial 3-hole diamond drilling programme which was co-funded under the Western Australian government’s Exploration Incentive Scheme (EIS).

The initial drilling targeted a gravity anomaly within the Whaleshark granite crosscut by a 4 km long NW- trending structure.

The gravity anomaly sits beneath MMI soil anomalism and strongly anomalous “interface” aircore results up to 435ppm copper (Cu), 889ppm cobalt (Co), 16ppm molybdenum (Mo), 0.16g/t gold (Au) and 7.7g/t silver (Ag).

WSDD001 targeted the southern half of the gravity anomaly, whilst WSDD002 and WSDD003 targeted the NW-trending structure (Figure 1).

Drilling intersected biotite-rich granodiorite which did not explain the gravity anomaly. As such, the Company will model recently collected specific gravity data before retesting the gravity anomaly.

Fine-grained sulphides, including chalcopyrite, were observed throughout two of the three holes. The presence of chalcopyrite was confirmed with handheld XRF at the time of logging and returned spot readings up to 1.2% Cu from the thin shear observed in WSDD002 (Figure 2).

Multi-element assays subsequently confirmed the presence of copper and anomalous Au, Ag, Mo, Lanthanum (La), Cerium (Ce) and Tungsten (W) throughout the Whaleshark granodiorite including:

• WSDD001 – 1m @ 0.10g/t Au (119-120m) and 1m @ 31.4ppm Mo and 1022ppm W (433-434m)
• WSDD002 – 0.4m @ 0.2% Cu and 1.07ppm Ag (231.5 – 231.9m)
• WSDD003 – 1m @ 0.11g/t Au (134-135m)

Summary cross sections of each hole are attached.

Miramar’s Executive Chairman, Mr Allan Kelly, said the Company continued to be encouraged by the results from Whaleshark.

“Since commencing exploration at Whaleshark, we have narrowed the target down from a very large MMI surface geochemical anomaly, outlined aircore copper, gold and silver anomalism and intersected bedrock copper sulphide mineralisation in the first diamond drilling programme,” Mr Kelly said.

“Given the positive indicators seen at Whaleshark so far, including copper mineralisation and anomalous IOCG pathfinders within the Whaleshark granodiorite, we believe we are in the right area,” he added.

“Whaleshark is an exciting project with potential to discover Western Australia’s first IOCG deposit. We are looking for a large deposit here, and there is plenty of room to find one. Each phase of our exploration is helping bring us closer to that potential discovery,” Mr Kelly said.

Figure 1. Whaleshark Project 2VD magnetic image showing diamond holes in relation to MMI, aircore, and gravity anomalies and potential magnetite alteration.

Figure 2. XRF copper readings from WSDD002 showing “background” copper content for granodiorite (dashed red line). (Note: readings were routinely taken every meter, with additional targeted readings taken where sulphide mineralisation was observed.)

Geochemical Vectors

Examination of the multi-element XRF and assay data from this programme has highlighted geochemical vectors that could be useful for further exploration for IOCG mineralisation at Whaleshark.

Published data from the Prominent Hill and Carrapateena IOCG deposits in South Australia showed that monazite grains related to IOCG mineralisation have high La and Ce concentrations, and correspondingly low Y and Th concentrations, when compared to “background” samples.

This diagnostic high La and Ce geochemical signature has also been observed in analysis of cover sediments over the Prominent Hill deposit (Figure 3).

At Whaleshark, the aircore and diamond drilling results show similar distributions of La and Ce values from both XRF and multi-element analysis, with the highest La and Ce results in the diamond drilling coming from WSDD003 (Figure 4) suggesting a geochemical vector towards potential IOCG mineralisation in the northwest, where a large magnetic anomaly is seen.

The highest copper values observed in WSDD003 are associated with very coarse-grained magnetite confirmed by elevated magnetic susceptibility readings.

Combined, these two observations indicate that the large magnetic anomaly at the northwestern end of the structure could represent magnetite alteration associated with IOCG mineralisation.

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