Investigator Resources unlocks Stuart Shelf copper-gold potential with DGO Gold agreement
The deal with DGO Gold enables Investigator Resources to unlock the potential of its Stuart Shelf tenements while the company focuses on its Paris silver project.
Investigator Resources’ (ASX: IVR) Stuart Shelf tenement package is about to undergo significant exploration after it secured a binding heads of agreement worth $6.35 million with DGO Gold (ASX: DGO).
The deal paves the way for DGO to earn up to 80% of the South Australian-based Stuart Shelf tenements by spending $6.35 million on exploration over five years.
Investigator managing director Andrew McIlwain said the agreement offers the company a “low risk opportunity” while the company focuses on its flagship Paris silver project, which is also in South Australia.
“The earn-in program provides continued exposure to exploration success whilst preserving funds for Paris.”
Mr McIlwain added that DGO has a “significant adjacent tenement holding” and are currently exploring the region for Zambian-style copper deposits.
Proposed three-stage exploration at Stuart Shelf
The Stuart Shelf tenements include EL 5705, which hosts the Maslins iron oxide-copper-gold target.
Under the heads of agreement, DGO will commit to spending a minimum of $350,000 on exploring the tenements over the first 12 months.
This is expected to include geophysical survey, modelling and interpretation, which is scheduled to be completed before the end of the year.
A 1,500m drilling program will then follow, with this also planned to kick-off before year-end.
During the second stage, a further $2 million will be spent over two years for DGO to lock-in 51% ownership of the tenements.
In the third stage, DGO will spend an extra $4 million over another two years, which will secure its 80% of the assets.
The Stuart Shelf tenements are believed to host extensions to DGO’s interpreted copper model.
Paris silver project
Investigator’s rationale behind the agreement with DGO is to unlock the potential of the Stuart Shelf tenements while it focuses on its Paris silver project, which is believed the highest grade undeveloped primary silver project in Australia.
Paris has a resource of 9.3 million tonnes at 139 grams per tonne silver and 0.6% lead for 42Moz of contained silver and 55,000t of lead.
Earlier this month, Investigator started a 20,000m drilling program at Paris, with results anticipated to continuing flowing through to the end of the year.