- 01McLeod Hill copper footprint expands beyond 1km; 12 of 20 holes hit significant copper.
- 02Mineralisation extends 340m south and 160m north, and remains open.
- 03Austral plans drilling along a prospective corridor spanning more than 3km.
Austral Resources (ASX: AR1) has reported a copper footprint expansion of more than 1 kilometre at the McLeod Hill deposit within its Western Operations hub in northwest Queensland.
Twelve of a total 20 recent drill holes returned significant copper intersections and substantially increased the known strike extent of the mineralised system beyond the existing resource estimate of 1.68 million tonnes at 0.64% copper, defined over approximately 470 metres of strike.
Highlights were 5m at 2.32% copper from 70m (oxide), 20m at 0.59% copper from 67m (oxide and transitional) including 5m at 1.40%, and 8m at 1.18% copper from 43m (as oxide and transitional) including 5m at 1.63%.
The mineralisation was extended 340m south and 160m north of the resource, open along strike in both directions and remaining incompletely tested at depth.
Detailed Reinterpretation
Drilling followed a detailed reinterpretation of the geological and structural controls on mineralisation at McLeod Hill which detected a series of subtle fault offsets along the prospective contact between the Gunpowder Creek Formation and older basement rocks.
In several areas, historical drill holes were interpreted to have been collared too close to the faulted basement contact, resulting in those holes providing an ineffective test of the projected continuation of mineralisation.
Austral used the revised geological interpretation to reposition drilling and test the prospective sequence beyond the historical drilling footprint, with new drilling intersecting copper mineralisation north and south of the existing mineral resource.
The southern extension is largely concealed beneath alluvial cover and colluvial scree, resulting in limited surface expression of the underlying mineralisation.
The latest drilling demonstrated that significant copper mineralisation continues beneath this cover well beyond the previous southern limit of the resource.
Canyon Copper System
The expanding McLeod Hill system occurs along strike from Austral’s Canyon copper system to the north, where recent drilling intercepted up to 24m at 1.03% copper from 74m (as oxide).
The company believes both projects occur within a broader prospective copper corridor extending over 3km, with significant portions remaining untested by drilling.
While continuity of mineralisation between the two systems has not yet been established, their geological setting and position along the same prospective trend provides a clear target for future exploration.
Planned drilling campaigns will progressively test extensions north of McLeod Hill and evaluate prospective areas between McLeod Hill and Canyon.
Existing Infrastructure
Chair David Newling said McLeod Hill showed why exploration close to existing infrastructure remained an important part of Austral’s growth strategy.
“Our latest drilling has materially expanded the known copper system [at McLeod Hill] beyond the footprint of the current mineral resource, with mineralisation now demonstrated over more than 1km of strike and remaining open in multiple directions,” Mr Newling said.
“Importantly, this growth is occurring within our existing mining leases and only 4.5km from our Western Operations facility.”
“This combination of existing copper resources, shallow oxide mineralisation, established infrastructure, and further exploration potential makes McLeod Hill a strategic brownfields growth opportunity for us.”
“Our next phase of activity will focus on incorporating these results into the geological and resource models, advancing metallurgical work, and continuing to test the broader McLeod Hill-Canyon corridor.”
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