Hammer bags JV with 2nd global mining heavyweight
Hammer Metals have put their foot on more highly prospective copper-gold ground in Queensland under a new joint venture with Glencore.
The land that is the subject of the joint venture is adjacent to the Mary Kathleen uranium mine, 60 kilometres east of Mt Isa.
Known as the Mt Frosty joint venture, the deal is the second stage of a buyout of tenements around Mary Kathleen from Chinalco Yunnan Copper Resources, now known as AuKing.
The first stage covered three tenements wholly owned by AuKing, including the already defined Elaine-Dorothy resource of 143,000 tonnes of copper from 27 million tonnes of ore grading 0.53% copper and 0.08 g/t gold.
The second stage relates to AuKing’s 51% stake in the Mt Frosty joint venture, which is adjacent to the historic Mary Kathleen uranium mine. The deal was conditional on amendments to the JV with 49% owner Glencore, which have now been approved.
Stage 2 was satisfied with the issue of 250,000 Hammer shares, which brings the total cost of the AuKing tenement package to 1.5 million shares or just $58,000 at Tuesday’s closing price.
Hammer will manage the Mt Frosty joint venture and retain that role while it holds an interest of more than 50%. This will allow Hammer to drive activity and is another endorsement of its considerable exploration skills.
CEO of Hammer Metals, Alex Hewlett, said: “Hammer is very pleased to now be working side by side with Glencore in the Mount Isa district. This JV now completes Hammer’s acquisition of AuKing’s tenement interests in the Mount Isa region. The range of prospective copper-gold targets acquired are considered to significantly enhance Hammer’s current tenement portfolio in the Mount Isa region.”
Mt Frosty’s proximity to the Mary Kathleen mine, which closed in 1982, means that historic exploration has been focused on uranium. However, the joint venture includes a significant strike length of the Mary Kathleen Shear Zone, which hosts several copper-gold, uranium and REE prospects including Jubilee, Koppany and Blue Caesar.
AuKing drilled 19 RC drill holes at the Jubilee copper-gold workings, which produced such impressive intercepts such as 10 metres at 3.37% Copper and 2.27g/t Gold from 107 metres and 9 metres at 2.8% Copper and 1.44g/t Gold from 73 metres.
The Mt Frosty joint venture adds to Hammer’s already bulging portfolio of copper-gold and cobalt prospects and cements their place as a significant explorer in the Mt Isa district.