Bellavista Resources (ASX:BVR) is actively considering a number of development options including joint venture (JV) partnerships at its flagship Brumby Project in Western Australia.
Speaking to Mining.com.au on the sidelines of the Resources Rising Stars conference on the Gold Coast yesterday (17 May 2023), Executive Director Mick Wilson says should the company pursue a JV it will likely look more to the majors.
“As a partnership, we are already talking to a few large groups. So as a small company, we’re there to create a concept and to prove it exists. And to be fair, this is such a big project that it won’t be ours for long. One of the big boys will need it because it’s so big.
Ultimately, for us we can see this becoming a big battery project. If you believe that coal is old technology, base metals is new tech for energy generation. This style of deposit is effectively the replacement for coal. So, it’s a huge base metal system with all sorts of interesting metals in there. There’ll be innovation that pushes towards these things.”
“As a partnership, we are already talking to a few groups. So as a small company, we’re there to create a concept and to prove it exists”
In its March 2023 quarterly report, Bellavista reports it secured a strong land position in a ‘highly prospective’ mineral province in Western Australia, which it believes is capable of hosting ‘giant to super-giant’ base metal deposits, and battery mineral deposits.
The $11.3 million market capitalisation company has started its exploration, with field programs of drilling, geophysics, mapping, and sampling well underway.
The Brumby base metals project covers the Brumby Creek Base Metal system, located about 120km southwest of the mining services town of Newman. The project area, which extends for about 18km east-west and up to 4km north-south, is located 45km northwest of the producing Abra Base Metal Mine.
Bellavista’s phase one drilling program undertaken over 2022 field season was aimed at completing a broad drill-out of the known mineralisation footprint at Brumby, which was estimated to cover 30km-square (based on historical drilling), and target areas where high-grade mineralisation may exist.
About half of the holes from the historic works did not reach the target depth, and no oriented diamond core was available prior to Bellavista’s maiden program.
The phase one drilling program comprised 3,574m in 7 diamond and 4 Scout RC holes on the existing tracks over Brumby.
Coupled with historic holes, the company says it is clear the Brumby base metal system is prolific, continuous, and ubiquitously present across the 30km-square area tested so far.
All laboratory assay results from the phase one program have now been received. As expected, Bellavista notes the results correlate very well with the previously reported Minalyze continuous XRF data for the remaining holes.
Wilson says the results so far from the drilling programs at Brumby illustrate the sheer magnitude and continuity of the mineral system, with 10-30m wide mineralised zones intersected in drill holes spaced over 1km apart over a 30km-square.
Wilson tells this news service: “What we’re looking for here is a world-class deposit. The style of deposit is probably not something that’s been identified in Australia previously. So, this is really the start of a really interesting process.”
He adds, while there had been historical drilling at the project in the 1990s, little work had been done since.
“We’re the first company to be back there 30 years later and we are there to finish the job.”
“What we’re looking for here is a world-class deposit. The style of deposit is probably not something that’s been identified in Australia previously. So, this is really the start of a really interesting process”
Meanwhile, Bellavista is collaborating with Fleet Space Technologies to advance its assets. Fleet Space’s ExoSphere technology, which provides the mining and mineral exploration industry fast, scalable 3D mapping solutions to pinpoint raw materials and increase accuracy in identifying blind drill targets.
“Fleet Space, we did a trial survey last year and we’re really happy with what it’s showing us.”
Bellavista listed on the ASX on 25 May 2022. It is backed by some of Western Australia’s gold including Steve Parsons, who is the founder and Managing Director of Bellevue Gold (ASX:BGL), and Executive Chairman Capricorn Metals Mark Clark.
Wilson adds: “They’ve (Parsons and Clark) got a history of fantastic discoveries in the gold space in WA. So, they’ve put us together as a company and backed us to get stuck into the base metals space. That’s basically it – we’re the base metals exposure for the guys behind Bellevue and Capricorn Metals.”
The company’s Edmund Basin projects cover some 140km of strike of the northern margin, with an additional 30km of strike on the East Abra Project on the southern margin of this highly prospective basin. The projects include Brumby Deposit, Vernon Base Metals, Vernon Nickel/PGE, Gorge Creek, and East Abra.
The properties are prospective for ‘large to super-large SEDEX (sedimentary exhalative) base metal deposits, Abra-style IOCG Cu-Pb-Ag-Au deposits, sulphide related nickel/PGEs deposits in mafic/ultramafic intrusions and possible sediment hosted uranium.
Write to Adam Orlando at Mining.com.au
Images: Bellavista Resources Ltd
