Adelaide-based explorer Resolution Minerals (ASX:RML) has begun drilling 2 1,000m deep stratigraphic diamond drillholes at its Benmara Battery Metals Project in the Northern Territory.
The $6.28 million market capitalisation company reports Benmara is ‘highly prospective’ for sediment-hosted copper, cobalt, and other base metals and is subject to a farm-in and joint venture (JV) agreement with BHP (ASX:BHP).
The drill targets have been designed to test the Fish River and Bauhinia faults, which provide an ‘ideal’ location for mineralised fluids to focus and precipitate metals in reductive trap sites. The company says the nearby Walford Creek copper-lead-zinc-silver-cobalt deposit and the Century Lead-Zinc-Silver Mine in Queensland share equivalent host rocks and similar structural settings.
While the drillholes have been optimised to intersect mineralisation, they have also been positioned to increase Resolution’s understanding of the rock units present at depth.
Resolution says this drilling program is the first phase of a multi-year program designed in collaboration with BHP’s exploration team and is funded by the farm-in agreement along with a $150,000 grant under the Northern Territory’s Resourcing the Territory Initiative.
The first hole will test for evidence of battery metal mineralisation processes along the Fish River Fault Zone, where reductive carbonaceous siltstones of the Benmara Group overlap the northern margin of the South Nicholson Basin.
Once the presence of mineralised Benmara Group is validated, the company says this opens a ‘large’ search space along the Fish River Fault Zone, including a 50km strike length within its ground.
Meanwhile, the second hole will test for evidence of battery metal mineralisation processes associated with a splay fault off the major Bauhinia Fault Zone within the South Nicholson Basin.
Resolution says the primary aim of the drillhole is to provide stratigraphic constraint for the Benmara Group interpreted from the seismic line. Once the presence of the Benmara Group is validated, the company reports this will open a ‘large’ search space along the Bauhinia Fault Zone, including 35km of strike within its ground.
Resolution says this area presents an ‘exciting’ opportunity for the company given the lack of previous battery metal exploration in the region.
Commenting on the drilling program, Resolution Minerals Managing Director Chris McFadden says: “The South Nicholson Basin is one of the last relatively underexplored sedimentary basins left in Australia, so it is exciting to be commencing a drilling program to test high-priority targets and gather new data to understand the base metal potential of the district.
“The South Nicholson Basin is one of the last relatively underexplored sedimentary basins left in Australia”
I would also like to acknowledge the value of our partnership with BHP, not just in funding this program, but also the expertise and support in working to develop a program that will give us the best chance of making a significant discovery in this region.”
On 13 May 2022, Resolution announced a binding heads of agreement for a farm-in and JV agreement between Resolution and OZ Minerals before OZ was taken over by BHP. Under this agreement, BHP is earning up to a 75% interest in Benmara by spending 5 million on exploration over a 5-year period. A JV can be formed between both companies once BHP spends $3 million on exploration in the third year.
Resolution Minerals is an Adelaide-based explorer focused on developing precious and battery metals such as gold, copper, cobalt, and uranium. The company’s portfolio includes the 64North Project in Alaska, US, the George Project in South Australia, and the Wollogorang and Benmara projects in the Northern Territory.
As of 30 June 2023, Resolution had $1.3 million cash at hand, according to its latest quarterly report published on 28 July 2023.
Write to Harry Mulholland at Mining.com.au
Images: Resolution Minerals Ltd
