Iltani Resources is expanding its presence in the Tasmanian copper sector, having been granted an exploration licence situated adjacent to Sibanye-Stillwater’s historic Mt Lyell copper project.
EL6/2024, which covers 20 square kilometres and is for a five-year period, is said to contain known secondary copper prospects such as the King Lyell copper-clays deposit, multiple additional mineral occurrences and historical exploration targets.
The southern section of EL6/2024 contains the extension of the Mt Read volcanic belt, which hosts the Mt Lyell deposits and is known as “Australia’s premier address for high-grade volcanic-hosted massive sulphide deposits”.
The Mt Lyell deposit currently has an underground mineral resource of 71.3 million tonnes (Mt) at 1.03 per cent copper and 0.26 grams per tonne (g/t) of gold for 1.14 per cent copper equivalent, and an open pit mineral resource of 69Mt at 0.64 per cent copper and 0.17g/t gold for 0.71 per cent copper equivalent.
Iltani applied for EL6/2024 after conducting a review into the historical exploration data of the three secondary copper deposits: King Lyell, Lyell Consols and Lyell Blocks.
The licence is part of Iltani’s strategy to target copper opportunities.
“While we are focused on exploring and developing the Orient and Antimony Reward projects in Queensland, as part of Iltani’s ongoing business development activities we are seeking to target opportunities which will increase Iltani’s exposure to critical minerals and copper,” Iltani managing director Donald Garner said.
“In this case, we identified an opportunity to apply for vacant ground in Tasmania containing known secondary copper (the Copper Clays) mineralisation which is contiguous with Mt Lyell, a major copper deposit.
“With receipt of the licence, we will commence evaluating the historical exploration data to better understand the Copper Clays’ secondary copper mineralisation and the potential to generate new targets on the licence area.”
Iltani has commenced a review of all historical data to understand the potential of the three secondary copper deposits. The company believes the Copper Clays could hold the potential to establish a low-cost mining operation.
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