ASX-listed junior explorer Native Mineral Resources has opened up a new exploration frontier in Western Australia’s Nullabor region after being granted two key tenements in the region. The company will immediately commence a high-resolution magnetic survey over its new leases to help define new drilling targets over the 195 square kilometre slice of the remote Nullarbor Plain in the newly defined Madura Province.
Native Mineral Resources says it will focus its efforts on well-defined geophysical targets and fast track the delineation of prospects in preparation for a maiden drilling campaign.
The Nullarbor is the latest hot spot for undercover gold, copper and nickel mineralisation revealed through government run, taxpayer funded pre-competitive geophysical data.
The Nullarbor is a flat, essentially treeless, arid plain in southern Australia. Apart from a bit of fun at the annual Nullarbor Muster and the daily passage of the Indian Pacific train, not much has happened there since the dreamtime.
Agreements have already been reached with the Miring Traditional Lands Aboriginal Corporation and the Pila Nguru Aboriginal Corporation which should substantially allow the company to get boots on the ground quickly to undertake its own, targeted high-resolution magnetic survey.
Native Mineral Resources Managing Director, Blake Cannavo said: “We expect our initial round of geophysical surveying to commence this week. This new surveying, along with historical geophysical data, will greatly assist with refining our initial drill targets on these tenements.”
“NMR has a busy exploration schedule planned for the coming months across its project portfolio and regular updates will be provided on exploration progress in due course."
The company says structures seen on recent government acquired seismic and magnetotelluric surveys are similar to Independence Group’s celebrated Nova-Bollinger deposit and other successful exploration targets unearthed by Legend Mining in the adjacent Fraser Range.
The Madura Province is now hot property with BHP Nickel West, Rio Tinto, Red Metals, Maria Resources, Chalice Mining and SensOre all chasing new discoveries in the remote region.
Prior to geophysical and stratigraphic drilling work recently completed by federal and state geological surveys, the region had received scant attention due to the extensive soil cover over the prospective basement rocks.
Native Mineral Resources says it will be the first company to follow up on the taxpayer-funded work of Geoscience Australia and the Geological Survey of Western Australia with commencement of its high-resolution magnetic survey.
The company is building a pipeline of copper and gold projects including near surface copper opportunities along the 130km long, highly prospective Chillagoe formation in Queensland and its expanding near-surface gold mineralisation at Music Well in Western Australia. According to company management, its prospects in the Madura Province have a magneto telluric signature that feel a lot like the Fingers of God at Olympic Dam.
Native Mineral Resources was established to explore for copper and gold deposits in Queensland and for gold deposits in the Eastern Goldfields region in Western Australia. With an exciting new mineral province in its grasp, Native Mineral Resources is in the running to uncover the first significant discovery in the legendary Nullarbor Plain of Western Australia.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au
By Matt Birney
