Cooper Metals Ltd (ASX:CPM) is a junior explorer focused on three highly prospective copper-gold projects in Queensland and Western Australia.
The company listed on the ASX in November 2021 following an oversubscribed initial public offering (IPO) which raised A$4.8 million.
Cooper’s flagship Mt Isa East Project in northwest Queensland covers a large ~1,300 square kilometre portion of the Mt Isa Inlier and is prospective for copper and gold mineralisation.
The Mt Isa East Project is complimented by two Western Australian Projects, including the Yamarna Gold Project along strike from Gold Road’s multi-million-ounce Gruyere gold deposit and the Gooroo Copper-Gold Project in the Gullewa Greenstone belt ~20 kilometres from Silver Lake’s Deflector Mine.
Mt Isa East Project
Cooper is exploring for copper and gold mineralisation at the Mt Isa East Project, where it has reported encouraging assay results from follow up reconnaissance rock chip geochemical sampling.
Following the company’s first reconnaissance geochemical program in late 2021, where samples of up to 35.3% copper were returned from the Python prospect, the company recently received results from follow-up sampling at several prospects including Python, King Solomon, Yarraman and Prince Albert Trend.
High-grade results from Python and King Solomon
Infill rock chip sampling along the 1.5-kilometre copper mineralised trend at King Solomon has returned up to 9.85% copper and 2.58 g/t gold, indicating higher gold potential than the company had expected.
At Python prospect, around 2.3 kilometres northwest of King Solomon, Cooper previously collected three rock chip samples from the shallow workings that returned copper grades from 1.65% to 35.3%.
During the current sampling campaign, the company has discovered an additional previously unknown historical mine shaft.
A rock chip sample from near these old workings unveiled 8.53% copper and 0.11 g/t gold, extending the known mineralisation at the prospect.
The project area covers part of the Mary Kathleen Domain within the world-class Mt Isa Inlier that also hosts Carnaby Resources’ Nil Desperandum and Lady Fanny prospects.
King Solomon location of historical workings, samples and Cooper’s rock chip samples.
Sampling continues to impress
Cooper managing director Ian Warland said following the release of the sampling results: “Follow-up surface geochemical sampling in the north-eastern part of the Mt Isa East Project continues to impress and build an exciting picture of the broader Cu-Au potential of the Project area.
“The highest gold result to date of 2.58g/t Au at King Solomon highlights the strong gold potential of the prospect, which was mainly exploited by historical miners for the copper mineralisation.
“At Python, the footprint of the old workings and Cu mineralisation continues to grow as field teams continue to explore the area.
“The high powered electromagnetic survey underway at Python is designed to aid interpretation of the mineralisation in three dimensions and delineate preliminary drill targets.”
Python Prospect Rock chip sample location over geology.
400-metre copper zone at Yarraman
Meanwhile, at the Yarraman prospect, historical copper in a soil anomaly appears to extend for 400 metres around old workings, with rock chip samples revealing up to 3.31% copper from the historical mine shaft.
Also near Yarraman, rock chip samples indicate up to 20.2% copper from a gossanous outcrop 640 metres southeast of the prospect, giving the company high hopes for the potential of the area.
An additional 18 rock chip samples have been collected from historical workings and selected outcrops which contain visual evidence of copper mineralisation or appear gossanous in nature.
Yarraman prospect location of Cooper Metals Rock chip samples on geology.
Warland added: “Initial field reconnaissance at other prospects has been very encouraging including Yarraman area, which returned up to 20.2% Cu from an iron oxide gossan hosted in a significant shear zone within mafic rocks, which are often spatially associated with Cu-Au mineralisation in the region.
“I’m very pleased with the Company’s progress at assessing Cu-Au occurrences and targets to date, the company is planning to move into less explored areas of the prospective Mary Kathleen Domain with airborne electromagnetic survey to start after the wet season.”
Next steps at Mt Isa
Cooper has big plans for the Mt Isa Project, including:
- Ground electromagnetic surveys at the King Solomon and Python prospects to delineate any sulphide conductors for drill testing;
- Continued compilation and integration of historical exploration results from the project area;
- Extensive follow-up mapping and geochemical programs at lesser developed targets (Prince Albert, Yarraman, Mt Zsu Sui), to start to build a more accurate picture of the extent of some of these strongly mineralised systems; and
- A regional airborne electromagnetic survey in early June quarter.
Gooroo Copper-Gold Project
The Gooroo Copper-Gold Project is about 413 kilometres northeast of Perth, Western Australia.
Nearby mining projects include Silver Lake Resources Limited. (ASX:SLR)’s Deflector mine with ~1.27 million ounces of gold at 13.5 g/t and 3 million tonnes at 0.8% copper.
Cooper is targeting Orogenic gold and copper-gold mineralisation (Deflector style) in the highly prospective Gullewa Greenstone Belt in the Murchison Province of the Yilgarn Craton.
The area also has potential for Volcanic Massive Sulphide (VMS) deposits.
The greenstone sequences at Gullewa comprise a package of felsic to mafic volcanics, exhalative cherts and fine to coarse grain sediments typical of VMS terrains such as those that host golden Grove VMS deposit ~60 kilometres to the east.
During the December 2021 quarter, Cooper commenced a regional soil sampling program spaced on a 200m-by-200m grid focusing on an area of outcropping to thinly covered greenstones in the north-western portion of the project area.
Yamarna Gold Project
The Yamarna Gold Project is 140 kilometres east of Laverton in the Yamarna Terrane.
Cooper has two tenements totalling ~171 square kilometres over prospective greenstones.
Exploration tenement E38/3551 is along strike from Gold Road Resources Ltd (ASX:GOR)’s 6.16 million ounces world-class Gruyere Gold Deposit and contains an extensive length of untested Dorothy Hills Shear Zone that was important in the formation of Gruyere gold deposit ~10 kilometres to the southeast of Cooper’s tenements.