Great Western Exploration has entered into an earn-in agreement over the McKinlay copper-gold and silver project, 80km south-east of Cloncurry.

The company believes there is significant opportunity to make Ernest Henry-style iron oxide-copper-gold (IOCGs) and Cannington/Broken Hill-type silver-lead discoveries within the project utilising modern exploration techniques.

‘This point is underscored by AIC Mines’ (ASX:A1M) reporting of exploration results from the company’s Brumby prospect,’ Great Western (ASX: GTE) said in an ASX announcement on the earn-in agreement.

‘Utilising modern exploration techniques and modelling, AIC recently reported significant copper and gold results from this target, that is located just 26km south-west of the McKinlay project.’

Related: Brumby drilling results add to AIC’s ‘dream’ run

The project comprises two tenements (EPM27957 and EPM27958), previously held by companies such as BHP, Aberfoyle, Ivanhoe Australia, Sandfire Resources and Newmont.

Under the farm-in agreement with private company Moffat Resources, Great Western can earn a 51 per cent interest in McKinlay in return for spending $500,000 on exploration and a further 29 per cent interest by spending another $2 million on exploration.

The company can then achieve 100 per cent ownership of the project by paying Moffat up to $2 million in cash and/or shares (with Moffat to retain a 1 per cent net smelter return royalty).

The agreement is subject to shareholder approval.

Great Western said there were a number of highly prospective copper-gold targets (similar to Brumby) and silver-lead targets already defined, including:

• Deere – This target is a coincident magnetic-gravity high, with initial drilling interpreted to have intersected the southern edge of potentially large-scale Ernest Henry-style IOCG mineralisation system. A 1990s drill-hole intersected 28m at 0.78g/t gold and 632ppm copper from 78m.
• Dylans – This target is a coincident magnetic and gravity anomaly, interpreted to have a similar geophysical signature to Ernest Henry. RC drilling has returned results that including 66m at 514ppm copper from 50m, 24m at 470ppm copper from 54m, and 12m at 505ppm copper from 30m.
• South Zone – A number of highly prospective Ernest Henry-style copper-gold and Cannington-style silver-lead targets, all with coincident magnetic and/or gravity highs. Drill results include 24m at 472ppm copper from 66m, 34m at 3.06g/t silver from 36m, and 10m at 0.21 per cent lead
• South Sugarbag – Known IOCG deposit Sugarbag is located north and outside of the project, with host stratigraphy trending into the project with little previous drilling completed.
• Ventura – Ernest Henry-style target with previously defined coincident electromagnetic and magnetic anomaly covered by very shallow (~2-3m) scree, with a lag surface copper anomaly.
• Stellantis – Ernest Henry-style target with copper-gold soil anomalism, with shallow drilling previously returning results of 6m at 0.11 per cent copper from 82m, 6m at 0.12 per cent copper from 0m, 12m at 0.15 per cent copper from 0m, and 4m at 0.29g/t silver from 20m.
• Ridgeback – Shear-hosted copper target, with drilling outside of project tenure recording results of 8m at 0.3 per cent copper from 15m, 20m at 0.14 per cent copper. The interpreted mineralised shear trends into the McKinlay project’s tenements.

Great Western Exploration also holds the Yerrida North project, about 800km north-east of Perth, and the Lake Way potash project, about 50km south-east of Wiluna.