Qld government grants to help Red Metal drill big copper-gold targets
Red Metal is poised to unlock the vast mineral potential of its Queensland copper-gold projects, thanks to two collaborative drilling grants worth a total $400,000 from the Queensland Government.
The funds are set to spearhead the company's proof-of-concept drilling program at two highly prospective iron oxide-copper-gold projects at its Gulf and Three Ways prospects.
The company says its high-impact drill testing on geophysical targets in the Mount Isa terrain will be the first deep testing of the prospects, which are in a region renowned for hosting world-class base metal deposits.
Red Metal has zeroed in on its GT9 target at Gulf, a compelling gravity anomaly that mirrors the scale and intensity of BHP's giant Oak Dam copper-gold deposit in South Australia. Oak Dam has 1.4 billion tonnes of resources, including 220 million tonnes at 2 per cent copper and 0.5 grams per tonne (g/t) gold.
Historic drilling at Gulf has already uncovered hematite breccias - key indicators of IOCG systems - lending weight to the company's bold claim that the 'must-drill' target suggests the potential for a game-changing discovery akin to Oak Dam.
At Red Metal's Three Ways project 100 kilometres south of Gulf, the company is preparing to drill a 1.7km-long magnetic target, which coincides with a strong conductance anomaly that Red Metal says is indicative of Mount Isa-style sedimentary-hosted copper mineralisation.
Located in a newly identified basin near a major fault zone, Three Ways copper sulphidic host rocks and proximity to a regional structure make it a prime property for big-scale base metal deposits.
Heritage surveys for both projects are slated for June, paving the way for drilling to kick off in August.
Red Metal's managing director Rob Rutherford recently noted: 'If we hit a huge IOCG breccia, it could be a write-your-own-cheque scenario for a junior like us.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
13 hours ago
- ABC News
Ngaanyatjarra Council's Perth CBD base has remote residents worried
Traditional owners in a far-flung corner of the West Australian desert are concerned the decisions made by a city-based land council could put their country at risk. Pintupi man Winston Green is an anthropologist and plumber who has spent much of his life in the small community of Tjukurla, 350 kilometres west of Uluru and 1,800km north-east of Perth. He said many of his family members, including senior Ngaanyatjarra woman Lizzie Marrkilyi Ellis and senior Pintupi man Simon Butler, were particularly concerned about proposed development in the north-western part of their country. Viridian Energie has applied for a petroleum exploration permit over a 6,250-square-kilometre block of the Ngaanyatjarra Lands, which cover thousands of kilometres of Australia's Western Desert. But Mr Green said locals had raised concerns about the Ngaanyatjarra Council, which represents communities scattered across an area the size of Victoria, negotiating on their behalf. He pointed to the recent situation in Jameson, 330km south, where BHP — Australia's richest mining company — suspended operations at the half-built West Musgrave nickel and copper mine. Although the decision was driven by the plummeting price of nickel, Mr Green said it was a terrible blow to the community, where incomes were low and job prospects were few. "From before and after [the mining agreement was in place], if you were to take a photograph and ask yourself 'what has improved?' I'd say not a lot has improved." In 2023, the Ngaanyatjarra Council shifted its head office from Alice Springs to a high-rise building in St Georges Terrace in Perth's CBD. Mr Green said it left them increasingly disconnected from the communities they represented. He questioned whether funds from mining agreements would reach remote Ngaanyatjarra communities, or if they would be sunk into administration costs in the city. He also questioned why the independent "non-member director" positions on the council's board were vacant. The Ngaanyatjarra Council said while these directors were an option, they were not required. Leigh Nelson, general manager of communities at the Ngaanyatjarra Council, said he understood why community members had questions about the head office's CBD location. But he defended the move, saying it better positioned council staff to speak with government agencies, like the federal government's National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA), which also had offices nearby. He said it was "not unusual" for an Aboriginal corporation to have a CBD base. While he said he could not disclose how much it paid in rent, he said it was "extremely reasonable". He also pointed out it had regional offices and staff throughout the Ngaanyatjarra Lands and Alice Springs. But Mr Green and Dr Ellis believed the council should be more accessible, with residents in smaller communities like Tjukurla feeling increasingly forgotten. "The Ngaanyatjarra Council, they haven't really helped Tjukurla community and the people advance that much," Dr Ellis said. "They put all their focus on the other communities." With native title negotiations conducted as a "cultural bloc", the Tjukurla residents fear their interests are being dominated by those of larger communities. Mr Green said many people in Tjukurla were far more connected to the north-eastern part of the region than those in Warburton. He said it was important council appreciated those differences when it dealt with resource companies. Viridian Energie has lodged an application with the WA government to explore for "gold hydrogen" and helium north-west of Tjukurla. Director John Heugh said before moving forward, it would need to negotiate a cultural heritage agreement with the Ngaanyatjarra Council. He said if traditional owners did not want development on their country, the company would not proceed. But he said it was bound to honour the land council's decision, not that of individual communities. "[The Ngaanyatjarra Council] are the legitimate representatives of all the people who live there," he said. Mr Green also questioned whether the community had sufficiently benefited from the West Musgrave nickel and copper mine, which has been suspended until at least 2027. Ralph Addis, the Ngaanyatjarra Council's executive director of strategy, said the mining agreement had been designed to deliver most benefits once production began and royalty money started flowing. "No-one foresaw that the nickel market was going to go south as dramatically as it did," he said. Mr Addis said BHP had contributed towards playgroup facility upgrades and purchasing white goods, through about $3.2 million of social investment funding over the past three years. He said a "significant" pre-production payment went to traditional owners via the council. "If we had your standard-variety mining agreement in this circumstance, we'd be in an even worse spot than we are," Mr Addis said. "So I actually think that [traditional owners], with the council support, negotiated a very solid and very modern mining agreement for the BHP mine. A BHP spokesperson said it was aware the suspension had been challenging for many Ngaanyatjarra people. It is understood BHP is working with the council to review the funding distribution structure. Mr Green and Dr Ellis said they were investigating whether they could push for another governance structure, to give them more control over their land and community. "Not from the council side." It is understood any change would require sign-off from the Ngaanyatjarra Council and the prescribed body corporate Yarnangu Ngaanyatjarraku Parna. Mr Addis said negotiations around the Viridian Energie permit were only in the early stages. "But if … there's a gap in understanding of the current state, then that's absolutely something we'd take on board."
Sydney Morning Herald
18 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Torquay's favourite sandwich bar is moving, but it's good news for fans of carbs
There's more to love at the new Mortadeli, including carbonara-inspired breakfast wraps, Roman pizza slices and new snacks for afternoon drinks. Plus, a new cafe nearby has an all-Australian menu led by jaffles. Torquay's smash-hit sandwich bar Mortadeli has carved out a name for itself as a destination for carb lovers since opening in 2021. Not only were its meatball sandwiches and deli goods a lure, but an added pasta bar located just steps away opened up more ways to enjoy the Euro-tinged good life. But running a three-in-one business and keeping both cafe and restaurant hours took its toll on owner Jake Cassar. Mortadeli 3.0, opening Tuesday, is a leaner machine, taking the best parts of the business and rolling them into a single venue open until early evening. 'We want it to be like the bars you see in Italy,' says Cassar. 'Come in the morning to have your espresso and a pastry, and come back at lunchtime for a sandwich or a bowl of pasta.' The space that was the deli and pasta bar is being reconfigured, with the deli being scaled back (no more meat sliced to order, sadly). The sandwich bar is being moved from the smaller shop across the piazza into this space. One roof, one menu, one kitchen, with current chef Louella Lacaden remaining. The current roster of sandwiches will be available, kicking off with American-style breakfast buns and hearty baked bean melts before lunch sangers, including the signature Maltese hobz-biz-zejt, roll out. The new daytime menu is broader, with soups, salads, house-made pasta, one-off sangers and sweets rotating month to month. For opening, there's pumpkin, chickpea and pasta soup, a grain salad with pomegranate and yoghurt, rigatoni bolognese, and spaghetti cacio e pepe. Roman-style pizza by the slice is also planned. New breakfast items include piadina – the flatbread from Emilia-Romagna – filled with scrambled eggs, guanciale, pepper, parmesan and rocket; it's a riff on carbonara. Ham and bechamel arancini and other fried Mediterranean items (including Maltese pastizzi) are there for afternoon spritzes and wines, or while-you-wait snacking for anyone getting takeaway sandwiches. Cassar is sad to see the pasta bar go but excited about the next chapter. 'That was fun, we did that for two years. Now, let's do something else.' Keep an eye out for one-off events, DJ sets, courtyard barbecues and the launch of catering in the former sandwich shop space. Breakfast and lunch daily; drinks and snacks Fri-Sat. Between Torquay and Geelong, Booln Booln is a gum tree-fringed cafe for road trippers to put on their radar. With a menu that spotlights First Nations ingredients, it's the first venue of Troy and Cerisa Benjamin, founders of tea company Blak Brews. Since 2023, they've been creating cuppas featuring kakadu plum, quandong, desert lime and other native Australian ingredients. 'Having our own space [is] like turning the page on a brand-new chapter,' says Troy. The cafe is part of the Wathaurong Booln Booln Cultural Centre, which is set on bushland with a wildlife sanctuary attached.
The Age
18 hours ago
- The Age
Torquay's favourite sandwich bar is moving, but it's good news for fans of carbs
There's more to love at the new Mortadeli, including carbonara-inspired breakfast wraps, Roman pizza slices and new snacks for afternoon drinks. Plus, a new cafe nearby has an all-Australian menu led by jaffles. Torquay's smash-hit sandwich bar Mortadeli has carved out a name for itself as a destination for carb lovers since opening in 2021. Not only were its meatball sandwiches and deli goods a lure, but an added pasta bar located just steps away opened up more ways to enjoy the Euro-tinged good life. But running a three-in-one business and keeping both cafe and restaurant hours took its toll on owner Jake Cassar. Mortadeli 3.0, opening Tuesday, is a leaner machine, taking the best parts of the business and rolling them into a single venue open until early evening. 'We want it to be like the bars you see in Italy,' says Cassar. 'Come in the morning to have your espresso and a pastry, and come back at lunchtime for a sandwich or a bowl of pasta.' The space that was the deli and pasta bar is being reconfigured, with the deli being scaled back (no more meat sliced to order, sadly). The sandwich bar is being moved from the smaller shop across the piazza into this space. One roof, one menu, one kitchen, with current chef Louella Lacaden remaining. The current roster of sandwiches will be available, kicking off with American-style breakfast buns and hearty baked bean melts before lunch sangers, including the signature Maltese hobz-biz-zejt, roll out. The new daytime menu is broader, with soups, salads, house-made pasta, one-off sangers and sweets rotating month to month. For opening, there's pumpkin, chickpea and pasta soup, a grain salad with pomegranate and yoghurt, rigatoni bolognese, and spaghetti cacio e pepe. Roman-style pizza by the slice is also planned. New breakfast items include piadina – the flatbread from Emilia-Romagna – filled with scrambled eggs, guanciale, pepper, parmesan and rocket; it's a riff on carbonara. Ham and bechamel arancini and other fried Mediterranean items (including Maltese pastizzi) are there for afternoon spritzes and wines, or while-you-wait snacking for anyone getting takeaway sandwiches. Cassar is sad to see the pasta bar go but excited about the next chapter. 'That was fun, we did that for two years. Now, let's do something else.' Keep an eye out for one-off events, DJ sets, courtyard barbecues and the launch of catering in the former sandwich shop space. Breakfast and lunch daily; drinks and snacks Fri-Sat. Between Torquay and Geelong, Booln Booln is a gum tree-fringed cafe for road trippers to put on their radar. With a menu that spotlights First Nations ingredients, it's the first venue of Troy and Cerisa Benjamin, founders of tea company Blak Brews. Since 2023, they've been creating cuppas featuring kakadu plum, quandong, desert lime and other native Australian ingredients. 'Having our own space [is] like turning the page on a brand-new chapter,' says Troy. The cafe is part of the Wathaurong Booln Booln Cultural Centre, which is set on bushland with a wildlife sanctuary attached.
