In a timely boost that adds weight and confidence to its looming prefeasibility study, True North Copper has upped its Cloncurry project resource in Queensland. Contained copper has climbed by seven per cent to 109,000 tonnes, while gold ounces have risen by nine per cent to 84,000 ounces.
The uplift was driven by advanced grade-control drilling, targeted exploration and step-out holes, along with sharper geological modelling. Together, the company says the work has expanded the resource base at Cloncurry and lifted confidence by increasing the proportion of Indicated material.
The company’s Cloncurry copper project, which sits immediately south of the old copper township, comprises several deposits, including the old and underexplored Great Australia Mine, alongside its Taipan and Orphan Shear prospects.
After folding the new data into the models, Great Australia’s resource has grown 13.5 per cent to 5.29 million tonnes grading 0.86 per cent copper, 0.07 grams per tonne (g/t) gold and 0.03 per cent cobalt.
Meanwhile, over at its Taipan deposit, the 5.21-million-tonne resource grading 0.57 per cent copper, 0.13g/t gold and 0.02 per cent cobalt hasn’t changed much in size. However, confidence has lifted, with indicated material now making up 95 per cent of the total resource.
With PFS activities underway and drilling programs set to commence across CCP, our focus is on targeted extension and infill opportunities, as well as priority regional targets, to continue growing the resource base and advance development options in the short to medium term.
True North’s wider Cloncurry project straddles both IOCG and ISCG-style deposits within the legendary Mount Isa Inlier, one of the world’s great copper, lead, zinc and gold provinces. This prime geological address gives the company plenty of runway to chase more copper-gold-cobalt discoveries.
A standout example of that upside is the company’s Wallace North deposit, about 35 kilometres southeast of Great Australia. First identified in 2023, the sulphide-rich copper-gold system sits within a structural shear zone and was recently upgraded to a 2-million-tonne resource grading 1.28 per cent copper and 0.77g/t gold, containing about 25,000 tonnes of copper and 50,000 ounces of gold.
The stronger resource base at Cloncurry is set to flow straight into the company’s upcoming prefeasibility study, slated for release later this year. That study will weigh up future development options, including the potential for open pits and underground extensions, while also firming up metallurgy and geotechnical parameters.
About 3000 metres of additional drilling is planned to support that work, alongside targeted step-out and infill holes aimed at squeezing more tonnes from known lodes.
Metallurgical work will focus upon recovery assumptions. One process is Solvent Extraction and Electrowinning (SX-EW), a two-stage refining process used to produce high-purity copper from low-grade oxide ore directly at the mine site, often with lower capital costs compared to traditional smelting.
Elsewhere, True North has its foot on another major development opportunity, the Mt Oxide copper project. Sitting 280 km northwest of Cloncurry, the impressive deposit contains 15.03 million tonnes running 1.46 per cent copper, 10.59 g/t silver and 0.23 per cent cobalt for 220,000 tonnes of copper, 5 million ounces of silver and 21,000 tonnes of cobalt.
Centred around the Vero resource, True North believes Mt Oxide holds significant exploration upside and has focused much of its work in the past year on making discoveries to build a district of satellite deposits for a potential standalone project.
Sitting on a mining lease, the company’s Cloncurry project benefits from the existing infrastructure at its Great Australia Mine, including crushing, leaching and processing facilities. It also has access to a well-established transport network and power, built around major mines in the area, such as the world-class Ernest Henry mine, just 80 kilometres northwest of Cloncurry.
With resources growing, confidence rising and studies gathering pace, True North is steadily turning Cloncurry from a historic mining centre into a modern copper-gold growth story. Backed by infrastructure, prime geology and multiple development pathways, the company is shaping up as a serious player in Queensland’s next wave of copper production.
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