Encounter Resources (ASX:ENR) prepares to begin a 6,000m drilling campaign at its Jessica Copper Project in the Northern Territory, under a farm-in agreement with South32 (ASX:S32).
The program comprises 4,000m of reverse circulation (RC) drilling and 2,000m of diamond drilling to test targets identified from 2025 surveys conducted at the project.
Encounter expects to complete the final design of the 2026 drilling programs in Q1, with drilling scheduled to begin in Q2.
A regional magnetotelluric (MT) survey is also planned for Q3 2026, traversing the Jessica Project from north-west to south-east over 191km to map conductive units and major faults.
Executive Chairman Will Robinson says the planned drilling will test high-quality airborne electromagnetic (AEM), magnetic and induced polarisation copper targets.
“Over recent years, South32 and Encounter have completed extensive seismic reprocessing, targeted stratigraphic drilling, and AEM and MIMDAS geophysical surveys, laying the foundations for the exciting large-scale copper-focused drill programs planned for 2026,” Robinson says.
Encounter has expanded the Jessica farm-in agreement footprint through the addition of 685km2 of new tenure via tenement EL34124.
The Jessica Copper Project covers approximately 9,600km2 along key structural corridors east of Tennant Creek and is considered prospective for sediment-hosted copper and iron oxide copper-gold (IOCG) style deposits.
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Images: Encounter Resources
