ASX-listed Middle Island Resources has completed a ground-based induced polarity survey at its Barkly copper-gold project in the Northern Territory’s East Tennant Creek region.
The survey started on March 7 across the company’s flagship Crosswinds prospect and comprised a total of 24,000m in new lines with a total of five lines. Middle Island says it expects to provide a three-dimensional outline of the prospect’s anomaly and assist in target definition. The assessment is expected to be completed in the next few weeks.
The explorer says aeromagnetic and radiometric work has resumed with about 29,000km left to complete the enormous 40,000km geophysical program.
Middle Island has also been making moves in preparation for an upcoming drilling program. The company says ground transport has been secured in addition to core logging, storage and accommodation facilities to service the Barkly eastern and western tenements.
The company says its recently appointed natural resources manager has been to Crosswinds to meet with the local pastoralist and establish communications with the indigenous leaders in the area.
Additionally, permitting applications are well advanced and expected to be submitted in April with approval typically taking less than two months.
To achieve the best result, the company decided to defer its kick-off for drilling – now projected for May.
In its hunt for an iron oxide-copper-gold, or ‘IOCG’ deposit, Middle Island raised a few eyebrows last year when it reported spot pXRF readings of between 24.8 per cent and an astounding 76.2 per cent copper at Crosswinds.
Most notably, ASX-listed Emmerson Resources caused an even greater stir on December 8 2021 when it reported a stunning 117m hit going 3.38 per cent copper just 5km south of Middle Island’s ground.
In terms of the explorer’s target, IOCG deposits are highly sought after mineral systems due to their potentially high metal content. Australia has two major IOCG provinces of global significance, namely the Olympic IOCG province along the eastern margin of the Gawler Craton in South Australia and the Cloncurry district in the eastern Mount Isa Inlier of northwest Queensland.
Interestingly, geological body Geoscience Australia says several other provinces may contain small or medium sized IOCG deposits and the Tennant Creek district – where Middle Island is operating – is one of them.
The geological authority also says the historic Tennant Creek mining district is best known for its ancient and high-grade gold deposits, having produced 5.5 million ounces of gold, 488,000 tonnes of copper and 5,000 tonnes of bismuth at an average grade of 19.3 grams per tonne gold and 2.9 per cent copper.
Other players in the area include the ASX-listed explorers Newcrest Mining, Rio Tinto, Emmerson Resources and Greenvale Mining.
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