Pic: Schroptschop / E+ via Getty Images
Mining
Special Report: $3 million market cap Sultan Resources (ASX:SLZ) will look to acquire a 330sqkm copper-gold exploration portfolio in the heart of the East Lachlan, Australia’s hottest porphyry address.
Right now, Cadia Valley and Northparkes in the East Lachlan of NSW are the only two copper-gold porphyry mines in Australia.
Cadia alone is a massive, super low-cost operation producing nearly 913,000oz of gold and 91,000 tonnes of copper every year.
So for explorers nearby in the East Lachlan, the potential payday is huge.
The region has become a recent hotspot for porphyry exploration, thanks to Alkane Resources’ (AX:ALK)momentous discovery at the Boda project, about 110km north of Cadia, late last year.
For Alkane — and a few of its small cap neighbours — this has been a share price re-rating event.
Sultan will look to pay 10 million shares and $100,000 cash for Colossus Metals, which holds the only remaining privately held tenure in the East Lachlan.
These three exploration projects are considered highly prospective for both gold-copper porphyries and paleo-placer (ancient riverbeds) gold deposits.
A key focus for Sultan at the 108sqkm Star Plateau project will be Big Hill, a large 5km by 2.5km ‘magnetic high’ inferred to be an ‘intrusive’ – an early indication of a potential porphyry system.
It’s also sitting in the same host rocks as Boda 50kms to the north, and Newcrest’s Cadia-Ridgeway mine 50kms to the south. Big Hill has never been drilled, Sultan says.
Nearby, the Ophir project tenement contains extensive gold occurrences along the ancient riverbeds of the Macquarie River valley.
There are numerous historic gold workings here – some quite large – which have never been subject to modern exploration:
Then there’s the Tucklan project, 50km east of Boda, which hosts a large 2km by 600m anomaly which field mapping shows could be related to historic hard-rock gold workings.
Very little modern exploration has been undertaken here also –representing a significant exploration opportunity.
Colossus is run by exploration professionals with a combined 50+ years’ experience the Lachlan Orogen of NSW, Sultan says.
These guys have been closely connected with significant mineral exploration discoveries in NSW, including the 2 million-ounce McPhillamy’s gold deposit and the Tomingley gold deposit. They certainly know their stuff.
“Colossus controls the only remaining privately held land position over the belt that hosts the unfolding Boda discovery and the proven Tier-1 deposits of Cadia Valley,” Sultan chairman Jeremy King says.
“The acquisition of Colossus provides Sultan with immediate exploration access to the Ordovician aged Northern Molong Belt of NSW, one of the most exciting exploration provinces globally with majors very active.”
Mining
Mining
Mining
