True North Copper (ASX:TNC) has begun drilling at the Wallace North copper-gold deposit within the Cloncurry Copper Project in Queensland.
Drilling is targeting an expansion to the near-mine resource, following up the recent “high-grade” results, and to generate key technical inputs to support development studies.
The drilling campaign will cover six diamond drill holes across 1,000m and eight reverse circulation holes over 1,500m, following intercepts from last year’s drilling, including 9m @ 4.33% copper and 3.64 grams per tonne gold from 108m.
True North intends to deliver metallurgical and geotechnical data from the drilling campaign to support a 2026 Prefeasibility Study (PFS), while also testing near-mine extension and targets to expand the open pit footprint.
The exploration expansion will build on previous results from the Wallace East and Buena Vista prospects, such as 5m @ 0.515 copper and 2.44g/t gold from 51m.
Drilling is expected to be completed by late April to early May, with assays to be returned over the following six to eight weeks.
True North will progress metallurgical and geotechnical test work to inform geological, mining, and processing elements for the PFS, with drilling to transition to Mt Oxide from late April to early May to follow up on last year’s exploration campaign.
Managing Director Andrew Mooney says the start of drilling at Wallace North is a key step to advance the Cloncurry Project through a “clear development pathway”.
“This program is designed to both strengthen and grow our high-grade resource base, with a focus on near-mine extensions at Wallace North, while also generating the key metallurgical and geotechnical inputs required to support future development studies,” Mooney says.
“Importantly, we see significant exploration upside across the broader Cloncurry system, with multiple near infrastructure targets providing the potential to expand the scale of the project and enhance its long-term economics.
“Together, this work underpins our strategy to build a larger, higher-quality copper inventory and position Cloncurry as a compelling, development-ready copper project.”
True North Copper is focused on advancing its portfolio of copper assets in North Queensland.
Write to Maddison Elliott at Mining.com.au
Images: True North Copper
