Kincora Copper (ASX:KCC) is moving closer to securing potential partners for its wholly owned Trundle, Fairholme and Jemalong projects.
During the June quarter, the explorer with a market capitalisation of around $20.1 million, progressed site visits, technical reviews and commercial talks with multiple diversified, gold and copper majors.
The Trundle, Fairholme and Jemalong projects are located within existing mineral camps that host at least 20 million gold equivalent ounces in resources.
The move is part of Kincora’s prospect generator model approach, which CEO Sam Spring told Mining.com.au earlier this year will give the company’s portfolio of 12 large-scale porphyry projects the amount of drilling they require without blowing out the company’s capital structure.
In mid-April, Kincora locked in a second major joint venture with AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) for its Northern Junee-Narromine Belt (NJNB) Project in New South Wales
The US$28 billion ($42.7 billion) miner has now committed to spending up to $100 million on Kincora’s NJNB Project in the Macquarie Arc of the Lachlan Fold Belt, up from the initial $50 million buy-in announced for the first deal in May 2024.
As part of the agreement, Kincora receives a 10% management fee which provides the company with a continuous income stream for the duration of the partnership.
That deal increased the potential multi-year partner funding to over $110 million – which Technical Committee Chair John Holliday said previously puts the company on track to support a self-funding financing exploration model from third-party management fees.
Following this expanded earn-in deal with AngloGold, roughly over 5% of Kincora’s total shares on issue – or about 9.5% of the company’s free float – were transferred from the ASX to the TSX Venture Exchange.
Kincora says this reflects the “generally materially higher” share price and increasing liquidity on the TSX Venture Exchange, as well as the acknowledgement of the project generator model in the North American markets and the direct peer valuation discount to Inflection Resources (CSE:AUCU).
Inflection Resources has a market capitalisation of nearly C$30 million ($33.4 million) at its current share price of $0.24.
AngloGold is also a partner across a number of Inflection’s projects and just prior to expanding its earn-in with Kincora committed to phase-two exploration at four of Inflection’s copper-gold projects in the same region of New South Wales as Kincora.
Macquarie Arc results highlight project potential
There have been a number of recent developments in the Macquarie Arc that show the potential for new discoveries and the expansion of existing ones.
Waratah Minerals (ASX:WTM) made a new discovery at its Spur Project with a recent drill hole intersecting 208.7m @ 1.17 grams per tonne gold from 514m depth, news that has sent the explorer’s share price up over 150% in less than two weeks.
Kincora notes that its Trundle and Fairholme projects sit in a similar geological setting to the Spur discovery.
Meanwhile, Evolution Mining (ASX:EVN) reported record annual production of 750,512 ounces of gold and 67,862 tonnes of copper from its Cowal mine in New South Wales for the 2025 financial year.
The Northparkes mine also performed strongly during the period, delivering Evolution $299 million in operating cash flow and $108 million of net mine cash flow in its first full financial year under the company’s ownership.
Kincora says these results illustrate the significant potential of Kincora’s Trundle, and Fairholme and Jemalong projects located in the Northparkes and Cowal major project group blocks, respectively.
Following positive drilling results from the NJNB Project, AngloGold and Kincora expanded the initial drilling campaign to include four more holes after having already completed 15 holes.
Drilling is scheduled to transition from Nyngan to the Nevertire and Nevertire South projects, with a stage-two follow-up phase of step out drilling proposed at Nyngan post results and analysis of the initial scout program.
Veteran investors back long-term growth vision
Meanwhile, the June quarter also saw Kincora attract North American investor backing by way of a C$4 million placement cornerstoned by veteran resources investors Rick Rule and Jeff Phillips.
Alongside the placement, the company is in the process of completing a 10-for-one consolidation of its common shares on the TSX Venture Exchange and its chess depositary interests on the ASX.
The cash raised from the placement will be used to support Kincora’s ongoing project generation strategy, drilling at its wholly owned Condobolin gold-base metals project and working capital.
The removal of shareholder overhang with the exit of a former major investor helped lift Kincora’s share price on the ASX to a new 52-week high of $0.079 by the end of July off the back of Kincora’s strategy, recent progress and “heavily oversubscribed” financing with a 12-month hold period.
When one shareholder owns a large block of shares that could be sold it can place downward pressure on a share price.
Shares closed yesterday (14 August) at $0.066, three times what they were trading at in late March.
CEO Sam Spring says in the past two years, Kincora has made significant progress moving to a project generation and partner funding model and resuming drilling.
“We are very pleased that this progress, the inherent value that has been already created and further very material milestones anticipated upon continuing to deliver on the existing strategy, has been recognised by the strategic investors who have cornerstoned the recent non-brokered private placement and been actively acquiring stock subsequently on-market,” he says.
“The roll back and placement terms provides the structure to leverage the deals, partner funding and project results already in place and to unlock significant existing value. This is starting to be realised.
“The new capital provides the ability to accelerate more drilling, do more asset level deals, earn more management fees, and, ultimately, support the ambition of more (big) new discoveries. These multiple avenues all provide further material value catalysts for shareholders.”
Write to Angela East at Mining.com.au
Images: Kincora Copper
