New Frontier Minerals (LSE:NFM) will conduct a joint site visit to the Big One Deposit with Austral Resources (ASX: AR1) under an existing memorandum of understanding and has submitted new exploration applications for approximately 585km2 (178 sub-blocks) adjacent to its NWQ Copper Project.
Under the January 2025 MOU Austral Resources provides processing capacity at the Mt Kelly facility while New Frontier, an Australian-based focused explorer, supplies ore and exploration expertise, and the early-May inspection will assess historical oxide stockpiles and near-surface mineralisation to inform potential ore delivery and processing plans.
Previous grab sampling of historical stockpiles at Big One returned grades of 3.9%–11.85% Cu and sulphuric acid leach test-work delivered indicative recoveries of up to 99%, results the parties will re-evaluate to estimate volume, grade and processing suitability.
The tenement application sits approximately 150km north of Mt Isa in the Mt Isa Inlier’s Leichhardt River Fault Trough, was chosen for geological continuity with NFM's existing tenure, and consolidates tenure around the Big One Deposit which carries a JORC inferred resource of 2.1Mt @ 1.1% Cu (21,886t contained copper).
NFM's geology team will use the visit to map and prioritise 0-50m near-surface drill targets with the objective of extending mineralisation and upgrading the JORC resource to support a resource drilling campaign.
The Big One Mining Lease Application has received technical assessment approval from the Queensland Natural Resources and Mines Department, a regulatory milestone toward potential near-term production assessment using Mt Kelly under the MOU.
"This collaboration is expected to further refine our development strategy and supports a clear pathway toward potential copper production through utilisation of existing regional infrastructure under our Memorandum of Understanding with Austral Resources," Gerrard Hall, Chairman.
The joint site visit is scheduled for early May and the inspection outcomes will directly inform NFM's drilling program design and development timeline.
