Litchfield Minerals Advances Belt-Scale Harts Range Copper-Nickel Model

Litchfield Minerals (ASX: LMS) has advanced a belt-scale copper-nickel exploration model across the Harts Range after June quarter technical work linked a deep conductor beneath Blackadder-Baldrick with wider regional structures and mineralising pathways.

The BHP Xplor Program integrated high-resolution magnetotelluric (MT), seismic reflection, gravity, structural and isotopic datasets to reframe the corridor from a collection of separate prospects into a district-scale mineral system.

At Oonagalabi, 11 reverse circulation holes totalling 1,772 metres and three diamond holes totalling 1,218m confirmed broad copper-zinc mineralisation in the Main Zone despite weather, access, and personnel disruptions.

With $4.603 million cash at 30 June and several geophysical workstreams scheduled to begin shortly after quarter end, Litchfield entered the September quarter with exploration targeting under way across Oonagalabi, Silver Valley and the broader corridor.

Oonagalabi Model Sharpened

Phase 3 drilling returned a standout interval of 68.26m at 0.62% copper, 1.44% zinc, and 4.3 grams per tonne silver from 10m, including 19.66m at 0.66% copper, 2.58% zinc, and 5.6g/t silver from the same depth.

The program also produced 120m at 0.35% copper, 0.92% zinc, and 4.1g/t silver from 52m, including 60m at 0.52% copper, 1.26% zinc, and 6.3g/t silver, while another interval returned 39m at 0.69% copper, 1.14% zinc and 5.3g/t silver from 60m.

At Bomb Diggity, a diamond hole intersected an unusual hydrothermal molybdenite-iron sulphide-quartz-carbonate vein at 617.2m containing an unconfirmed nickel-bearing sulphide mineral that may represent a previously unrecognised mineralising event in the Oonagalabi region.

Drilling at VT1 encountered disseminated sulphides but did not fully explain the strength of a modelled 3,000-Siemens electromagnetic conductor, while two VT2 holes returned no significant copper or zinc mineralisation and left that target requiring further assessment.

District-Scale Search

Reinterpretation of MT and seismic reflection data identified the deep C2 conductivity anomaly beneath Blackadder-Baldrick, with its absence from broader regional MT datasets supporting the possibility that other deep conductors remain undetected without higher-resolution coverage.

Litchfield has planned two approximately 50km-long MT and gravity survey lines across the Harts Range corridor using 1km MT station spacing and 500m gravity spacing to test for additional C2-style anomalies.

A separate combined MT and gravity survey near Oonagalabi will test a conductivity anomaly at about 2.5km depth over an estimated 40 to 50 days.

Completion is anticipated in mid-to-late August, supported by up to $100,000 in Northern Territory Geological Survey co-funding.

Silver Valley Targets

Rock chip sampling at Silver Valley returned up to 378g/t silver, 0.91g/t gold, 5.04% copper, and 44.9% lead, supporting the interpretation of a structurally controlled polymetallic system that may extend at depth and beneath shallow cover.

An induced polarisation survey contracted for Silver Valley was scheduled to start in early July to identify sulphide-bearing extensions beneath cover and generate drill-ready targets.

Litchfield spent $1.116m on exploration during the quarter, including $1.032m at Oonagalabi, $70,000 at Silver Valley, and $14,000 on general exploration activities.

The cash flow position equated to an estimated 5.09 quarters of funding based on total available funding of $4.603m and relevant quarterly outgoings of $904,000.