Lord Resources (ASX: LRD) has entered into a binding earn-in agreement with Blackrock Resources to earn up to an 80% interest in the sulphide eights within exploration licence E52/2274 which hosts the high-grade Ilgarari copper workings in Western Australia.
The tenement is located 110km south of Newman, off the Great Northern Highway in Western Australia.
“This acquisition represents a unique opportunity to secure a joint venture in a highly prospective copper project in a tier one jurisdiction,” CEO, Andrew Taylor, said.
“Prior exploration has defined mineralisation over 4 km along the Ilgarari Fault and with numerous high-grade hits around both the “Main” and “Alac” workings. The Lord team looks forward to undertaking a systematic exploration program for the extensions and source of this mineralisation in conjunction with Blackrock Resources.
“The acquisition presents a low-cost entry into a highly prospective copper project for Lord.”
Copper mineralisation at Ilgarari is hosted within the steeply dipping NE-trending Ilgarari Fault which crosscuts flat lying siltstones, shales and dolerites sills and dykes. The dolerite sills and dykes have been attributed to a major continental tholeiitic magmatic event within the Collier basin of the Bangemall Supergroup.
Previous drilling was generally to a depth of less than 100 metres and mainly intersected secondary copper mineralisation of malachite, azurite and chrysocolla where a deep weathering profile is proximal to the fault zone. Deeper drilling has shown that mineralisation persists into fresh sulphide ore, although no systematic exploration has been undertaken at depth.
Exploration activity has largely focused on two areas of oxide mineralisation being the “Main” and “Alac” zones. Only 11 holes were drilled deep enough to intercept the Ilgarari fault beneath the 120mRL threshold, with 10 of these hitting mineralisation.
The depth extensions to Main and Alac zones will be the initial focus of exploration activities, with the company intending to undertake detailed analysis of mineralisation, alteration, petrophysics and geophysics of these defined zones to form an exploration framework that can be applied across the wider project.
Lord’s priority after entering the Agreement with Blackrock is to explore for high-grade mineralisation or feeder structures at depth, which have deposited the copper occurrence near surface. Extensions to mineralisation beneath the “Alac” zone will be the near-term priority drill targets, in addition to testing IP targets.
The knowledge gained from understanding the nature and controls on mineralisation at “Alac” will then be applied across the broader project including the north-east extensions of the Ilgarari Fault zone, where a single drillhole DD14IL014 was drilled under EIS funding 2,500m north of the “Alac” Zone.