Scenes from the NT outback. Source: Adobe Stock
The Market Online - At The Bell

Join our daily newsletter At The Bell to receive exclusive market insights

The Northern Territory (NT) is heating up, and not only because of the Beetaloo Basin.

Microcap explorer Litchfield Minerals (ASX:LMS) has announced on Thursday it’s to begin drilling for copper in the top end.

Copper is currently on something of a bull run, driven by a world that doesn’t have enough of it to meet demand.

(There’s also the issue Chinese smelter margins have further encouraged producers to slow down – something I wrote a big explainer on for The Market Online recently.)

Located within the Mount Doreen tenement, the name of Litchfield’s copper target area of interest has a name perhaps counterintuitive – ‘Silver King,’

A maiden geomag survey in May 2023 first spotted a pretty good contender for a copper anomaly, and the rigs have fired up on Thursday going after that same curio.

A multi-purpose RC and diamond rig is currently at Silver King, according to Litchfield, going after what its geotechs perceive to be a sub-vertical pipe-like structure underground possibly rife with copper mineralisation.

Assay results will be the true test of that.

“We will be drilling a combination of Diamond from surface and then shallow RC collars and then HQ diamond ‘tails’ in this preliminary round,” Litchfield chief Matthew Pustahya said.

“The insights from the 2023 IP survey, coupled with historical magnetic data, affirm our confidence that the Silver King area is a great first Copper target for our maiden drilling campaign.”

LMS shares last traded at 16cps.

LMS by the numbers
More From The Market Online
The Market Online Video

ASX Market Update: Index dragged by falling commodities | October 18, 2024

Commodity stocks have been a drag on the market, as investors await a slew of fresh…
Australia chart concept

Week 42 Wrap: HotCopper’s top picks; new ASX 200 record; world yawns at war

What HotCopper watched on the ASX this week felt a bit like 2022 – a lithium…
Zocalo Square in Mexico City

Mithril’s drilling in Mexico picks up silver at 997g/t, gold at 28g/t

Mithril Silver and Gold Ltd has seen its share price rise more than 15% on high-grade…
Image of a man checking prices on a receipt

What’s causing the cost-of-living crisis, and how to navigate it

Founder and CEO of Australian Investment Education Andrew Baxter has suggested five things consumers can do…