Miramar secures co-funded drilling support for its Whaleshark IOCG drill program. Pic: via Getty Images
EIS funding a vote of confidence in Miramar’s Whaleshark IOCG exploration plan
Mining
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Miramar’s plan to conduct diamond drilling to test for a potential large iron oxide copper gold deposit within WA’s relatively underexplored Capricorn Orogen has received support from the state government.
The company’s successful application for funding under Round 27 of the Co-Funded Exploration Drilling Programme under WA’s Exploration Incentive Scheme will see the state contribute half of the direct drilling costs – including mobilisation charges – to a cap of $180,000.
Miramar Resources (ASX:M2R) executive chairman Allan Kelly said the successful EIS application validates the robustness of the bedrock IOCG targets identified by the company at its Whaleshark project in the Ashburton region.
“The Whaleshark Project presents a unique opportunity for discovery of a large IOCG deposit under cover and within the relatively under-explored Capricorn Orogen of Western Australia,” he added.
“The discovery of a large IOCG deposit at Whaleshark could have a significant impact on exploration activities across the wider Gascoyne mineral province, similar to the discovery of the giant Olympic Dam deposit in the 1970s and the Prominent Hill and Carrapateena IOCG discoveries in the 2000s.”
Drill plans
The co-funded drill program will test a coincident gravity and aircore geochemical anomaly within a Proterozoic granite and Banded Iron Formation complex under sediments of the Northern Carnarvon Basin.
Miramar is currently preparing for completion of heritage surveys over the proposed drill sites ahead of drilling beginning after 1 June 2023.
The successful discovery of a large IOCG deposit could be a real game-changer both for the company and the Gascoyne region as they can host tremendously large, high grade, and simple-to-process concentrations of copper, gold and other economic minerals.
Significant examples include BHP’s giant Olympic Dam IOCG mine in South Australia and Ernest Henry in Queensland’s Mt Isa mining region.
This article was developed in collaboration with Miramar Resources, 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.
