Magmatic and Fortescue Chasing Northparkes Lookalike

THE CONFERENCE CALLER: Magmatic Resources (ASX: MAG) is confident it can make the next major copper-gold discovery in Australia. By Kristie Batten

The company has three projects in New South Wales prospective Lachlan Fold Belt where many major miners are also active.

In March, Magmatic’s share price shot up after it welcomed Fortescue (ASX: FMG) as a 19.9 per cent shareholder and partner at its Myall project.

Fortescue can spend up to $14 million over six years to earn up to 75 per cent of Myall.

Speaking at the RIU Sydney Resources Round-up, Magmatic executive chairman David Richardson said Myall shared the same signatures as the Northparkes copper-gold mine, 60 kilometres away.

Northparkes was recently acquired by Evolution Mining for US$475 million.

Richardson said the Myall-Narromine Intrusive Complex was of a similar age, composition and dimensions to the Northparkes Intrusive Complex.

Northparkes has a resource of 628 million tonnes at 0.55 per cent copper and 0.21 grams per tonne gold across 22 porphyry deposits.

Myall has an initial inferred resource of 110 million tonnes at 0.33 per cent copper equivalent for 354,000 tonnes of copper equivalent (CuEq) across two deposits, Corvette and Kingswood.

“We think we can increase that by multiples with our drilling,” Richardson said.

Richardson said only 10 per cent of the Corvette/Kingswood target area had been drilled to date.

Recent drilling results included 875.2m at 0.24 per cent CuEq and 241m at 0.55 per cent CuEq.

The system remain open in all directions.

Fortescue will fund future drilling and the $3.7 million the company invested in Magmatic allows the company to advance its other projects.

Magmatic also holds the Wellington North project, which surrounds Alkane Resources’ 14.7 million ounce gold equivalent Boda deposit, and the Parkes orogenic gold project, 30km along strike from Alkane’s Tomingley gold operation.

Richardson pointed out that 70 per cent of global copper production came from porphyry deposits.

“We think we’re onto another one,” he said.