Great Southern jags second large-scale Queensland copper-gold target
Until then, geophysical surveys, on-ground mapping and helicopter-borne aeromagnetic studies will continue their work to uncover new targets that light up with the same signals as Mt Dillon and Leichhardt Creek.
Great Southern Mining managing director Matthew Keane said: “It is exciting to see large IP anomalies directly below two of the most favoured targets within the Edinburgh Park project, namely Mt Dillon and Leichhardt Creek.”
The early discovery of two big intrusive-related anomalies is exactly what Gold Fields was hoping for when it signed up to go elephant hunting at Edinburgh Park.
The project spans a vast area of 1750 square kilometres and encompasses a belt-scale porphyry play. It was always going to be too big for Great Southern to explore single-handedly, but it is exactly the sort of exploration grounds that a deep-pocketed miner, such as Gold Fields, could get its teeth stuck into.
After a rigorous due diligence process and offering the best deal in a competitive tender, Gold Fields sealed its joint venture agreement in late 2023. The deal grants the mining giant the option to earn a 75 per cent stake in the project by spending $15 million in exploration over six years.
As part of its commitment, Gold Fields has to spend at least $2.5m within the first two years, ensuring an aggressive early exploration push. Great Southern retains a 25pc free carried interest until the $15m is spent.
The Edinburgh Park project is strategically located at the northern end of the proven New England Orogeny and is about 100km southeast of Townsville. The region hosts multiple world-class deposits, including the revered 16.6m-ounce Charters Towers mine, the 2.3m-ounce Pajingo gold mine, the 10m-ounce Ravenswood gold mine and the now depleted 9m-ounce Mt Morgan gold mine.
Some of Great Southern’s Edinburgh Park wrap around Navarre Minerals’ 2m-ounce high-sulphuric epithermal Mt Carlton gold-silver-copper mine.
Now that Gold Fields is responsible for exploration funding and chasing massive exploration targets, Great Southern appears well positioned to leverage itself into what could be a major copper-gold discovery.
With multiple large-scale targets now defined, the upcoming drilling program in this underexplored region could be the catalyst the company needs to transform itself from mining junior to a key player in the Queensland mining sector.
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