African Energy Resources Ltd (ASX:AFR) has submitted applications for nine maximum size exploration licences in northeast Western Australia covering two project areas that are considered highly prospective for stratiform copper mineralisation
According to the company, the applications provide the first-mover opportunity in an area that has the right geology to be a major copper province in the East Kimberley district.
The early-stage project applications complement African Energy’s Australian copper and gold portfolio, which has been developed over the preceding 12 months and includes early-stage copper and gold targets in Western Australia, and the more advanced Briggs, Mannersley and Fig Tree Hill project in Queensland.
Two East Kimberley projects
The two East Kimberley projects - Cambridge Gulf Project and Menuair Dome Project- occur within 50-100 kilometres of Wyndham with limited road access but good access to support services in Kununurra.
Both projects under application cover known copper occurrences that represent both structural settings.
The Cambridge Gulf Project consists of five exploration licence applications while the Menuair Dome Project consists of four exploration licence applications 80 kilometres to the southwest of Wyndham.
East Kimberley geological setting
The East Kimberley plateaux comprise flat to near flat lying clastic sediments and volcanic rocks of the Kimberley Group.
The lower parts of the Kimberley Group contains the Wunaamin Miliwundi sandstones and the Carson Volcanics comprising massive, altered basalts and minor clastic sediments and are overlain by the massive red siltstones and minor shales of the Elgee Siltstone.
AFR has mapped known copper occurrences within or adjacent to the shale units of the Elgee Siltstone and associated with glauconitic sandstones at the base of the Middle Pentecost Sandstone.
These horizons represent favourable hosts for copper sulphide precipitation.
There is no known exploration of any significance for copper for these two project areas, thus the project represents a first-mover opportunity.
Next steps
Some areas of the project are subject to travel and access restrictions unless approved by the Traditional Owners and the company has initiated the process to discuss land access and commercial agreements with the traditional owners of these lands.
Subject to the progress of these discussions, the company plans to undertake an initial program of helicopter-supported stream sediment sampling to broadly evaluate both project areas and to define targets for follow-up geological mapping and soil sampling.