Locksley Resources is stepping up its copper push in central New South Wales after securing an option over the Iron Duke project and bringing together a Greater Tottenham district covering more than 1,000 square kilometres.
The expanded project combines Locksley’s existing Tottenham resource with Iron Duke, creating two established copper-gold mineralised centres and a broad area for further exploration in the Lachlan Fold Belt.
Tottenham has a resource of 9.86 million tonnes grading 0.73 per cent copper, 0.22 grams per tonne of gold and 2 grams per tonne of silver. Iron Duke has a historical resource of 1.3 million tonnes grading 1 per cent copper and 0.6 grams per tonne of gold.
Locksley acquired the option over Iron Duke from Sky Metals. The project has recorded rock-chip and mine-dump samples of up to 26.1 per cent copper, while previous drilling included a 13-metre intersection grading 1.56 per cent copper and 4.48 grams per tonne of gold from a depth of 37 metres.
Two-pronged plan for Greater Tottenham
The company plans to pursue resource growth by drilling extensions to known copper-gold systems, including the high-grade Carolina deposit, as well as testing other brownfields and greenfields targets.
Those targets include extensions of the Mt Royal and Orange Plains prospects and a reassessment of the Bogan River prospect. Locksley also intends to examine metallurgy, mineability and processing options as it works to improve the potential economic value of the resources.
The exploration programme will draw on more than 20 years of geophysical, geochemical and geological data, which the company is compiling and reprocessing. An independent mineral resource estimate is also close to completion and is expected to provide an updated technical basis for the district.
Ian Stockton, Locksley’s technical director, said the estimate would establish a contemporary baseline for further drilling and studies examining possible development options.
“The Greater Tottenham project hosts an established copper-gold mineral resource supported by brownfield growth centres and a substantial legacy dataset,” he said. “The independent mineral resource estimate will provide a contemporary technical baseline to guide targeted drilling and supporting studies toward potential development options.”
Stockton said the integration of drilling, reprocessed geophysics and geochemistry was strengthening geological confidence and helping identify priority exploration targets for upcoming programmes.
The Greater Tottenham project lies within the Girilambone Basin, near the Cobar mining district and the Tritton and Mineral Hill operations.
Locksley’s renewed focus on New South Wales follows its decision to halt further exploration at the Mojave critical minerals project in California. The company cited a 57 per cent fall in antimony prices and disappointing geological continuity, and plans to maintain its US claims at minimal cost while directing resources towards its Australian copper assets.
