Chasing another Cadia: Koonenberry launches drilling at Newmont copper-gold JV

Koonenberry and major partner Newmont are starting an 11,000m campaign on the prowl for a big-time porphyry
Targets analogous to structural settings at big-time producers
Drilling set to soon begin at other KNB projects in a firing NSW jurisdiction

Special Report: Koonenberry Gold and Newmont Exploration have hit the launch button for up to 11,000m of air core drilling across their Junee copper-gold joint venture in New South Wales.

Koonenberry Gold (ASX:KNB) will get a free ride with the major partner, famously the world’s top gold miner, footing the bill for a ~144-hole campaign after already spending close to $24m to acquire datasets and complete more than 66,000m of drilling on the hunt for copper-gold porphyry systems at Junee.

The project could play host to buried intrusive complexes associated with copper-gold mineralisation, with targets notably analogous to structural settings at Evolution Mining’s (ASX:EVN) Northparkes and Newmont Corporation’s (ASX:NEM) own Cadia Mine.

Cadia is regularly among the two largest gold producers in Australia and also counts as the country’s second largest copper producer, underlining the size of the prize for Koonenberry and Newmont.

The campaign has been planned by Newmont’s geologists, building on past work which defined multiple porphyry systems with the same signatures as known producers.

“Previous drilling at the Junee Project has returned encouraging results including rocks which show strong similarities to world-class porphyry systems such as Newmont’s Cadia and Ridgeway Mines,” Koonenberry managing director Dan Power said.

Koonenberry holds a 20% interest in the project, with a free carry through not only this drill campaign but all the way to commercial production.

Existing drilling and planned holes across the Ant Hill, Kiaree, and Kimvale prospects. Pic: KNB

New South Wales wonders

While it produces far less gold than Western Australia, New South Wales continues to see massive investment dollars thrown at it by gold giants including Newmont, AngloGold Ashanti and Gold Fields thanks to its rich potential to host major gold-copper porphyry discoveries.

These kinds of mines are typically low grade but carry the bulk and geological characteristics to produce huge volumes of gold and copper at low unit costs.

Some industry figures estimate as much as $300 million of investment has been pledged in the State’s Lachlan Fold Belt by majors in the past two years.

Lowell Resources Fund chief investment officer John Forwood told Stockhead there was recognition the state remains elephant country.

A well-known listed fund, Lowell’s interest has turned to Koonenberry, which it is betting on to deliver value at the small end of the market.

While Koonenberry doesn’t have to sweat the bill at Junee, it does have other territory in the region ready for drill testing.

As Newmont will be drilling into Junee, Koonenberry’s focus will turn to its own near-term campaigns at the Enmore gold project and a Breakfast Creek copper target showing some exciting early results at its eponymous Koonenberry project.

This article was developed in collaboration with Koonenberry Gold, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.