Woomera Mining (ASX:WML) will now begin initial drilling at Kincora Copper’s (ASX:KCC) Bronze Fox Copper–Gold Project in Mongolia after the pair finalised the recent earn-in and joint venture agreement.
Final documents have been completed and shareholders have approved the partnership, which gives Woomera the right to earn an 80% stake in the project by spending up to US$4 million ($5.8 million) over five years.
Woomera will drill 2,250 to 3,250m of diamond core to test the potential for a shallower higher-grade structural zone, expand the resource and support an application for a second mining licence for the entire Bronze Fox Project.
The project, which is partly covered by a 30-year mining licence, hosts a maiden inferred resource of 426,000 tonnes of copper and 437,000 ounces of gold down to a depth of 325m.
Kincora also previously outlined an updated exploration target of 100-300 million tonnes @ 0.25-0.35% copper equivalent.
In line with completion of the final documents, Kincora has received $100,000 in cash and will shortly be issued with 180 million Woomera shares, worth $450,000, and the same amount of attaching options, exercisable at $0.005 before the end of July 2026.
This makes Kincora, which has a market capitalisation of $10.4 million, the largest shareholder in Woomera with an 8.2% interest.
Woomera, which has a market capitalisation of $3.3 million, recently completed a $1.7 million capital raising, and is currently undertaking a share purchase plan to support the earn-in deal.
The Bronze Fox Project is located in the Southern Gobi region of Mongolia, which Kincora CEO Sam Spring told Mining.com.au in August is one of the fastest growing new areas of copper supply globally.
Copper production in Mongolia is forecast to rise to 800,000 tonnes by 2028, up from 300,000 tonnes last year, marking a substantial 167% increase over five years.
The country currently exports about 1.4 million tonnes of copper concentrate each year, with the potential to ramp up to 2-2.5 million tonnes annually in the future.
Spring says with a high-impact drilling program set to begin in October, it is expected to be a “transformational period” for Kincora.
“This program is expected to achieve a number of very significant value catalysts and highlight Bronze Fox’s strategic value as the fourth major porphyry district in the world-class Southern Gobi copper belt,” he says.
Kincora brought in a partner for its Mongolian ground to free it up to focus on its flagship copper-gold projects located in the mineral-rich Macquarie Arc region of New South Wales.
Write to Angela East at Mining.com.au
Images: Kincora Copper
