Magmatic Resources Ltd (ASX:MAG) announced today the appointment of a new managing director - Dr Adam McKinnon - following the resignation of Peter Duerden.
A gold and base metals exploration and mining professional with extensive discovery experience in central west New South Wales, most recently McKinnon has been general manager - Exploration and Business Development at Aurelia Metals Ltd (ASX:AMI), where he led the rapid expansion of Aurelia’s exploration programs and the discovery of the high-grade Federation zinc-lead-gold-copper-silver deposit, a proposed underground mine development.
Central NSW expert
“Adam has a long history of making discoveries, and most importantly in central NSW," Magmatic chairman David Richardson said. “He brings vast exploration and business development skillsets, complementing his experiences of turning discoveries into mines.”
He has previously held technical roles with CBH Resources Limited and KBL Mining Limited, where he designed and managed an exploration program that led to the discovery of the high-grade Pearse gold and silver deposit near Mineral Hill, which has now been mined.
McKinnon holds a PhD in exploration geochemistry and mineralogy from Western Sydney University, with a study focus on deposits in central NSW.
Strike rate
His achievements in the region are numerous, including managing a A$20 million exploration budget and overseeing programs that included record year-on-year resource growth across the Aurelia group in 2021.
Among many resource-expansion achievements, he led the delivery of the 2020 maiden mineral resource estimate at Federation of lead, zinc, silver and gold at a total discovery cost of less than US$9 per tonne of zinc metal equivalent and executed a subsequent evaluation program for the Federation deposit that saw resources double in 2021, making it one of the most significant discoveries in the region in the previous three decades.
McKinnon has been nominated and selected as a finalist for the AMEC Prospector Award in 2020 and represented Aurelia Metals as a finalist for the NSW Explorer of the Year Award in 2021.
“Magmatic has an exciting portfolio of advanced gold projects in a world-class gold and copper precinct," McKinnon said of his appointment. “The region’s discovery potential has recently attracted many of the world’s largest gold and copper miners.
“I believe Magmatic’s projects contain potential for both million-ounce near-surface gold discoveries and major Tier 1 gold-copper discoveries. I look forward to applying my experience from previous discoveries in the region to strongly advance Magmatic’s exceptionally prospective project pipeline.”
Richardson also thanked Peter Duerden, in particular for embedding his significant knowledge of the North Molong porphyry-epithermal gold belt and advancing the Wellington North project.
McKinnon’s tenure starts in January 2022.
Strong position to prospect
With A$7.69 million in the bank, the company has firm plans to pursue aggressive exploration activities at Bodangora Gold Field, where diamond drilling is underway, targeting down plunge and near-mine extensions.
Work is also progressing on the Parkes Orogenic Gold Project, where high-resolution ground magnetics have commenced and aircore drilling will follow in early 2021, and the Wellington North and Myall copper and gold projects, with drilling planned for the new year.