Alma Metals (ASX:ALM) has secured a 51% ownership in the Briggs Copper Project in Queensland, after satisfying stage two earn-in requirements.
The $10.79 million market capitalised company has committed to the third stage of the earn-in, under which it can increase its ownership to a 70% joint venture (JV) interest by spending $10 million on Briggs by 30 June 2031.
Once Alma has obtained a 70% interest, both Alma and JV partner Canterbury Resources (ASX:CBY) will fund its proportional share of future expenditure, or dilute as per industry standard terms.
Managing Director Frazer Tabeart says completing stage two of the earn-in at Briggs is nearly two years ahead of schedule.
“This milestone reflects our firm belief in the unique opportunity Briggs presents to develop a major copper project with the advantage of existing infrastructure in a secure jurisdiction,” he says.
“Our ongoing drilling success continues to support our thesis of growing both tonnage and grade, further strengthening the project’s potential.”
In June 2024, Alma began a core drilling program focused on testing and infill drilling in the southwest part of a ‘large’ geochemical anomaly at the Briggs Central inferred resource.
The company says this program will reduce drill spacing to 80m over a portion of the resource, enabling an updated resource estimate that could potentially include indicated resources to support a Scoping Study later this year.
As a result of receiving ‘encouraging’ assay results, Alma has increased the program from 2,000m to 2,650m. Further assay results will be released as the program continues.
The Briggs Project contains an inferred resource of 415 million tonnes at 0.25% copper and 31 parts per million molybdenum. It is considered an outcropping porphyry copper deposit with strong potential for significant upside in grade and tonnage.
Alma Metals is a copper-focused explorer that has two projects in Queensland and Western Australia.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Alma Metals
