Kincora Copper Ltd (TSX-V:KCC, ASX:KCC, OTC:BZDLF) is preparing an extensive spring and summer exploration campaign in New South Wales, with more than 25,000 metres of air-core drilling planned across four projects as it advances a pipeline of porphyry copper-gold targets.
The company has approved a sole-funded budget of up to A$3 million for around 340 holes targeting 17 priority prospects at Nyngan West, Fairholme, Cowal East and Trundle. The work is designed to cheaply test and refine targets before committing to deeper and more expensive drilling.
The campaign will run alongside partner-funded drilling with AngloGold Ashanti (ASX:AGG) and ongoing discussions with potential new asset-level partners, where Kincora said it had received strong initial interest.
President and CEO Sam Spring said the programs were intended to “quickly and cost effectively test and advance our geological concepts, add scale and value”.
He added that the work would help position Kincora's highest-priority opportunities for larger-scale exploration while complementing its hybrid prospect-generator strategy and asset-level partnering process.
Four projects targeted
At Nyngan West, Kincora plans maiden drilling across Macquarie Arc porphyry targets as well as a separate area prospective for critical minerals including scandium, nickel and cobalt. The project has not previously been drill tested or had basement rocks sampled, with drilling expected to be completed before year-end.
At Fairholme, drilling will seek to extend the Gateway gold and base metals system, which Kincora has previously expanded from 600 metres to 1.6 kilometres of strike. The new campaign is designed to test a further kilometre while also advancing the Dungarvan target and three northern porphyry copper prospects.
Maiden drilling is also proposed at the southern Nerang prospect, with the Fairholme program expected to begin after the Christmas-New Year period.
At Cowal East, immediately east of Evolution Mining's Cowal operation, Kincora has designed drill lines across six targets, including step-outs from two known intrusive complexes and maiden testing of regional geophysical anomalies. A next-generation quantum gravity survey is also scheduled to begin in November.
The Trundle program will involve very shallow drilling across around 19 square kilometres, targeting mineralised intrusion centres in the northern, southern and Dunns areas of the project. Kincora is looking to apply a similar exploration approach to that used around the nearby Northparkes mining district.
What’s next
The planned air-core campaign follows portfolio-wide technical and commercial reviews that ranked targets according to geological merit and operational considerations.
Kincora is also awaiting full assay results from its completed nine-hole, 2,615-metre diamond drilling program at Condobolin, where localised higher-grade gold and base metals have been identified. An independent review is proposed to refine the geological model and potential follow-up work.
The company said its net cash position was expected to increase during September and the December quarter as it receives further proceeds from the US$10 million divestment of its Mongolian projects. Its last reported cash balance was A$12 million.
About Kincora Copper
Kincora Copper is an Australia-focused gold-copper explorer pursuing a hybrid project-generator strategy across the Lachlan Fold Belt and the historic Condobolin mining field in NSW.
The company says it has secured more than A$100 million of potential partner funding across earlier-stage and non-core porphyry projects, supporting more than 20,000 metres of drilling and over A$10 million of partner-funded exploration since late 2024.