Golden Deeps Ltd (ASX:GED) is set to bolster its investment in New South Wales’ prospective Lachlan Fold Belt copper-gold province, through an agreement with two other mining companies which will see it fund their exploration across four licences, to earn up to 80 percent interest in the projects.
According to binding Heads of Agreement with Acros Minerals Pty Ltd and Crown Gold Resources Pty Ltd, Golden Deeps will provide these companies with reimbursement of $179,263 for exploration activities, earning up to 80 percent interest if it spends $300,000 within three years.
The relevant tenements are in strong territory, between two noted mineralisation sites: the Siluro-Devonian Hill End Trough – which hosts the Hill End and Hargreaves goldfields – and the Rockley-Gulgong Volcanic Belt, which is highly prospective for porphyry copper-gold deposits.
Golden Deeps itself has an investment in this region, with ongoing drilling work at its Havilah copper-gold project – also located within the Rockley-Gulgong Volcanic Belt.
In a wider sense, the Lachlan Fold Belt is known for deposits such as the globally significant 456 million-tonne Cadia-Ridgeway deposit.
Extensions of the Sofala Volcanics south of the Havilah Project. Magnetics indicate
continuity of the highly-prospective volcanics and intrusives which project south under
Permian cover into EL9114. No previous work has tested the underlying volcanics and/or
the intrusive boundary (see Figures 1 and 2).
Geophysical surveys are planned to help define drilling targets – particularly those associated with porphyry mineralisation – with a cluster of targets already identified.
These include extensions of the Rockley-Gulgong belt along the Mudgee Fault – which includes the mineralised Sofala Volcanics and buried porphyry intrusion targets – and extensions of the Hargreaves and Tuckers Hill high-grade gold trends to the north.
Golden Deeps CEO Jon Dugdale said the Heads of Agreement allowed the company to access extensions of mineralised volcanics and intrusives within the Rockley-Gulgong Volcanic Belt.
“This belt is highly prospective for major porphyry/volcanic hosted copper-gold discoveries and is a similar setting to major deposits such as the world-class Cadia-Ridgeway mine,” he said.
“The Acros and Crown tenements also include extensions to the Hill End gold corridor which has produced over two million ounces of gold.
“We now look forward to immediately advancing geophysical programs to define drilling targets south and northwest of the Company’s Havilah Project, where drilling is currently testing copper-gold targets which continue under cover into the Acros and Crown ground.”
Golden Deeps has been trading at 3.3 cents.