Diamond drilling has confirmed the scale and continuity of a broad copper-cobalt-silver system at True North Copper’s (ASX:TBC) Aquila discovery in North-West Queensland.

The company told the ASX that the mineralised system now extended over approximately 1.8 kilometres of interpreted strike at the Mt Oxide Project, and remained open along strike and at depth.

Assay results from the first three diamond holes of the 2026 program validated the Aquila geological model, confirming continuity with well-developed higher-grade zones.

The results significantly increased confidence in the scale and development potential of the discovery, reinforcing the broader Mt Oxide upside, the company said.

Geophysics had earlier extended the mineralised footprint 600 metres north, growing an anomalous trend previously defined over about 1.2 kilometres.

Going deeper

Drilling showed a broad, continuous system about 30 metres wide, from near surface to depths of at least 250 metres.

True North Copper (ASX: TNC) managing director Andrew Mooney said the results were another step toward a potential standalone copper development.

“These diamond drilling results represent another important step in growing the Mt Oxide Project into a potential standalone copper development opportunity.

“The drilling program continues to demonstrate the scale of the Aquila mineral system, now defined over more than 1.8 kilometres of interpreted strike, while confirming broad mineralisation with well-developed higher-grade zones.

“Each drillhole is improving our understanding of the geology and the controls on mineralisation, giving us greater confidence in where to target the next phase of exploration and expand the Aquila mineral system.

“That understanding will be fundamental to unlocking the broader exploration potential of the Mt Oxide Project.

“Importantly, these are the first diamond drilling results from a much larger 2026 exploration program. With multiple drillholes and target areas still to report, including Aquila, Aquila North, Apollo and Acanthis, we believe we are only beginning to unlock the broader potential of the Mt Oxide Project.”

The company looked forward to delivering a strong pipeline of exploration news flow over the coming months as that story continues to unfold.”

The results included”:

Hole MOXDD26_001 returned 35 metres at 0.82% copper from 32 metres, including 4 metres at 4.08% copper from 38 metres.

Hole MOXDD26_003 returned 32 metres at 0.70% copper from 181 metres, including 9.4 metres at 2.04% copper, and extended the parallel Acanthis trend.

Hole MOXDD26_002 returned 36 metres at 0.34% copper from 136 metres, including 6 metres at 0.75% copper, confirming the system’s eastern extent.

The intercepts carried cobalt and silver credits and matched the broad, internally zoned style seen in True North’s 2025 drilling at Aquila.

Related: True North ‘onto something big’ with Aquila

The Aquila discovery sat within the Mt Isa-Cloncurry mineral province, about 100 kilometres north of the Glencore copper smelter.

It lay roughly 20 kilometres north of 29Metals’ Capricorn copper mine and about 4 kilometres from True North’s Vero resource.

Further assay results were expected from Aquila, Aquila North, Apollo and Acanthis over coming months as drilling continued.

True North said the program would keep expanding the Aquila system while testing the broader Mt Oxide district for new discoveries.