OZZ Resources gains new gold ground with additional base metals potential
Recharge Metals listed on the ASX earlier this month after raising $5 million in an IPO to advance its copper projects in WA.
Western Australia-focused gold explorer OZZ Resources (ASX: OZZ) has expanded its footprint in the Leonora mining district by adding another 63sq km to its recently acquired Pinnacle Well project.
The two new exploration licences will be bolted on to Pinnacle Well, located 25km north of Leonora and immediately east of OZZ Resources’ Mt Davis project.
The new area has had limited drilling since the early 2000s, despite the presence of a highly prospective greenstone belt and structural preparation from the Keith-Kilkenny shear zone.
“Most of the tenement area is shrouded by transported cover which has restricted historical exploration,” the company explained.
Same structure as major base metals deposits
In addition to their gold potential, the tenements lie on the same structures as the Jaguar base metals deposits, now being mined for zinc and copper by Round Oak, a subsidiary of listed investment house Washington H. Soul Pattinson & Company (ASX: SOL).
OZZ Resources listed in mid-2021 with gold projects located in the vicinity of established mining centres — Cue, Leonora, Meekatharra and Mt Magnet.
Managing director Jonathan Lea said the latest acquisition further consolidates the company’s landholding in the Leonora district, with the proximity of the tenements to OZZ Resources’ existing projects delivering synergies.
“We are planning extensive drilling programs targeting both gold and base metals mineralisation across the Pinnacle Well consolidated ground package in 2022, with the new tenure expected to yield numerous drilling targets this year and beyond,” he added.
Past drilling unsuited to area under cover
Together with the nearby Mt Davis gold project, OZZ Resources now has 174sq km of what it terms “highly prospective” tenements in the Leonora area.
OZZ Resources said there has been no gold exploration on the new tenements in the past decade.
Prior to that, there was widely-spaced aircore drilling although the company noted that, given the extensive transported cover and wide drill spacing, these techniques are not considered to have adequately tested for potential mineralisation.
OZZ Resources bought the tenements from Anglo Australian Resources (ASX: AAR) for $30,000 in cash and 1 million new OZZ Resources shares.
A further 500,000 shares will be issued to Anglo Australian after a JORC compliant resource greater than 50,000 ounces is defined, or when commercial mining begins.