Golden Deeps (ASX:GED) has entered into a binding heads of agreement to earn an 80% interest in the holders of four granted exploration licences in the Lachlan Fold Belt Copper-Gold Province of New South Wales.
Under the agreement with privately held Acros Minerals and Crown Gold Resources, Golden Deeps will reimburse $179,263 of previous exploration expenditure and earn the interest by spending $300,000 on exploration within three years.
Once Golden Deeps earns the 80% interest, an incorporated joint venture (JV) will be formed between all parties involved. Acros and Crown will hold the remaining 20% interest.
Following the earn-in and JV being formed, Acros and Crown’s interest will be free carried to a decision to mine. After the decision to mine, the JV partners will contribute in accordance with their interest, or dilute in accordance with standard industry formula.
Acros holds three licences and Crown holds one, which covers a total 461km2 area.
CEO Jon Dugdale says the agreement gives Golden Deeps access to extensions of mineralised volcanics and intrusives within the Rockley-Gulgong Volcanic Belt.
“This belt is highly prospective for major porphyry/volcanic-hosted copper-gold discoveries and is a similar setting to major deposits such as the world-class Cadia-Ridgeway mine,” he says.
“The Acros and Crown tenements also include extensions to the Hill End gold corridor which has produced over 2 million ounces of gold.
“We now look forward to immediately advancing geophysical programs to define drilling targets south and northwest of the company’s Havilah Project, where drilling is currently testing copper-gold targets which continue under cover into the Acros and Crown ground.”
At the Acros targets, magnetics indicate continuity of the prospective volcanics and intrusives which project south under permian cover into EL9114. No previous work has tested the underlying volcanics and the intrusive boundary.
The extensions of the Rockley-Gulgong belt along the Mudgee fault also includes the mineralised Sofala volcanics and buried porphyry intrusion targets into EL9069 and EL9060 north of Havilah.
Golden Deeps plans to build on previous work which has shown the mineralised targets are present within the licences. Planned work will include geophysical surveys, focusing on extensions of the Rockley-Gulgong belt south and north of its projects.
This work aims to define drill targets that will target major copper-gold deposits.
Golden Deeps is a copper, gold, silver, and vanadium explorer with projects in Namibia and New South Wales.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Golden Deeps
