Talisman Mining (ASX:TLM) has entered into a binding sale and purchase agreement with Australian gold explorer First Au (ASX:FAU) to acquire 100% of the Mabel Creek Iron Oxide Copper-Gold (IOCG) Project in South Australia.
The project covers a total area of 1,048km-square across 3 exploration licences (ELs) in the Gawler Craton of South Australia, containing prospective lithologies. It also has several ‘significant’ structures thought to be associated with Olympic Dam-style IOCG mineralisation and Gawler Craton-style gold mineralisation.
Talisman will also issue fully paid ordinary shares to the value of $100,000. The quantity will be determined by an issue price equal to the greater of $0.135 per share or the 5-day volume weighted average price (VWAP) traded on the ASX during the 5-trading day period ending the business day prior to the deferred consideration date.
If the necessary approvals and registration of transfer are not obtained within 4 months after the execution of the agreement, either company may terminate the agreement. In this case, the transfer of the project will not occur, and the balance of the consideration applicable will not be paid. Talisman will also be refunded a third of the initial cash payment in this instance.
“The Mabel Creek Project acquisition further enhances our existing exploration portfolio and complements our focus on copper and gold exploration opportunities”
Commenting on the sale and purchase agreement, Talisman Mining Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Shaun Vokes says: “The Mabel Creek Project acquisition further enhances our existing exploration portfolio and complements our focus on copper and gold exploration opportunities within highly prospective Australian locations.
Such a low-cost acquisition, with no trailing loyalty obligation, strategically located near existing world-class mineral deposits, is a great outcome for Talisman. Logistically, the Mabel Creek project area is easy to access with excellent existing infrastructure and provides our exploration team with an additional focus area alongside our New South Wales tenure, opening up an exciting new and complementary front for exploration activity and news flow.”
Talisman reports Mabel Creek was initially identified as part of the South Australian Government’s ‘Gawler Challenge’ in 2020. It was identified by both the winner and runner-up of the competition as one of the most ‘significantly prospective’ yet under-explored areas in South Australia for IOCG and Gawler Craton-style gold mineralisation.
No on-ground exploration activities have been undertaken on the project since 2014, with First Au only conducting desktop studies since the Mabel Creek project tenements were granted in mid-2021.
The company says the project tenements span a major deep-seated east-west trending fault system which is interpreted to host multiple Hiltaba Granite Suite, theorised as ‘instrumental’ in the genesis of mineralisation at Olympic Dam.
Demagnetised areas evident on recently acquired aeromagnetic data from the Geological Survey of South Australia suggests the presence of ‘extensive’ alteration associated with the fault system, indicating that it has been a fluid conduit potentially hosting mineralisation.
Talisman reports post-mineral cover is relatively shallow across the project compared to other areas of the Gawler Craton, with the cover sequence interpreted as varying from 30m to 250m. This is expected to make exploration techniques such as geophysics and drill testing far more cost-effective than most Gawler Craton exploration.
Following the completion of the agreement with First Au, Talisman intends to negotiate a Native Title Land Access Agreement (LAA), subject to obtaining the necessary approvals, allowing land access for exploration with the Antakirinja Matu-Yankunytjatjara Aboriginal Corporation (AMYAC).
Simultaneously, the company will incorporate all available geoscience information and develop a 3D interpretation of the project, with the aim of defining prospect areas and progressing them for further work. Once the LAA is established, Talisman intends to conduct ground geophysical surveys to develop drill-ready targets for first drill testing in the second half of 2023.
Talisman Mining is an Australian mineral development and exploration company focused on its portfolio of gold and base metal projects. These projects include the Lachlan Copper-Gold, and Lucknow Gold projects in New South Wales.
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