Nexus Minerals Ltd (ASX:NXM) has entered into a binding term sheet with Jamieson Minerals Pty Ltd whereby the company has secured an option to purchase 100% of the issued shares from Jamieson shareholders.
Jamieson owns the Bethanga Porphyry Copper-Gold Project tenements in northeast Victoria that comprise 194 square kilometres across two granted exploration licences in Australia’s premier porphyry copper-gold geological terrain.
The project is in the same geological host as the world-class Cadia-Ridgeway and Northparkes porphyry copper-gold projects further north in central NSW.
Nexus started a review of the Bethanga project in late 2019, however, this was placed on hold in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic.
“Potentially great value add”
Nexus managing director Andy Tudor said: “The Bethanga porphyry copper-gold project is potentially a great value add for our shareholders and a unique opportunity to secure a significant landholding in a highly sought-after province.
“These Bethanga exploration assets are located in the belt hosting the Tier 1 Cadia Valley Porphyry Copper deposits and remain largely unexplored.
“Additionally, analysts are predicting a significant rise in copper pricing, noting the critical importance of securing copper as the decarbonisation of the world accelerates.”
Project area
The project area is recognised by the Geological Survey of Victoria as a region prospective for porphyry copper-gold and VHMS mineralisation.
Bethanga project is underlain by the Macquarie Arc/Yoeval Tract – a belt of volcanic and intrusive rocks part of the Cowra-Buchan Rift Complex-- which is host to the Tier-1 Cadia Valley, Northparkes and Cowra deposits.
It is defined by a belt of volcanic and intrusive igneous rocks and an endowment of more than 80 million ounces of gold and 13 million tonnes of copper.
The Bethanga Porphyry Copper-Gold Project is in northeast Victoria.
Historical mining
Bethanga was historically mined for copper and gold at the turn of the 1900s and produced 118,000 ounces of gold at 39 g/t and 618 tonnes of copper from selectively mined narrow north-northeast trending quartz reefs developed within shear zones.
The quartz veins are less than 1-metre and were mined at the depth of 30-40 metres.
Proposed work
Nexus work program for porphyry gold-copper fertility assessment includes:
- Prospect-wide soil sampling program planning started with an aim to identify pathfinder elements indicative of a magmatic-hydrothermal system at depth;
- Geological mapping and lithogeochemical sampling – with specific alteration and geochemical characteristics being sought to indicate Porphyry gold-copper prospectivity; and
- Reprocess and 3D inversion of regional aeromagnetic data, followed by detailed ground magnetics survey.
Terms of agreement
Both companies agreed to execute the agreement on the following conditions:
- Nexus paid a $5,000 non-refundable fee for a one-month due diligence period that was completed on April 21, 2021;
- The company has completed initial due diligence and has now paid a further $40,000 non-refundable option fee to the vendors (option fee);
- This option fee allows Nexus to have the exclusive right for eight months to undertake reconnaissance exploration activities on the tenements; and
- After eight months, the company may elect to pay the following consideration to acquire 100% of the Bethanga project - $300,000 cash consideration and 2 million NXM fully paid ordinary shares.