- Encounter Resources (ENR) has entered into two new farm-in and joint venture (JV) agreements with South32 (S32) to accelerate exploration in the Northern Territory
- The agreements focus on the Jessica copper project and Carrara copper-zinc project in the Great McArthur Superbasin
- Under the deals, South32 will have the opportunity to earn a 75 per cent interest in each project by funding exploration over 10 years and delivering scoping studies for the projects
- South32 will act as manager of the projects as it works to earn an initial 60 per cent interest in Jessica and Carrara by spending $15 million and $10 million, respectively, on exploration
- Shares in Encounter last traded at 13 cents and shares in South32 last traded at $4.09 on June 22
Encounter Resources (ENR) has entered into two new farm-in and joint venture (JV) agreements with South32 (S32) to accelerate exploration in the Northern Territory.
Under the deals, South32 will have the opportunity to earn up to a 75 per cent interest in the Jessica copper project and the Carrara copper-zinc project, which each lie in the Great Macarthur Superbasin.
The ASX 200-lister will act as manager of the projects during the farm-in phase as it works to earn an initial 60 per cent interest in Jessica and Carrara by sole funding of $15 million and $10 million in exploration expenditure, respectively, within 10 years.
South32 can then increase its interest in the projects by 15 per cent by delivering scoping studies for each Jessica and Carrara.
Encounter Managing Director Will Robinson said the Great McArthur Superbasin was fast emerging as one of the “most significant global opportunities” for the discovery of new, large sediment-hosted copper and zinc deposits under shallow cover.
“Encounter is advancing this vast opportunity via a combination of farm-in agreements with some of Australia’s largest mining companies and an extensive portfolio of 100-per-cent owned projects,” Mr Robinson said.
“To date, Encounter has completed farm-in agreements in the NT that can provide up to $50 million in initial exploration funding from its partners.”
Jessica covers around 6300 square kilometres along key structural corridors east of Tennant Creek and is prospective for sediment-hosted copper and iron-oxide-copper-gold (IOCG)-style deposits.
Meanwhile, Carrara is on an interpreted structural offset of the western margin of the Carrara Subbasin which hosts the Century Zinc Mine on the eastern margin.
Shares in Encounter last traded at 13 cents and shares in South32 last traded at $4.09 on June 22.