WA1 Resources expands West Arunta IOCG project

ASX debutant WA1 Resources (ASX: WA1) has announced a significant expansion of its flagship West Arunta iron oxide copper gold (IOCG) project in Western Australia through two new exploration licence applications.

The applications are set to increase the junior explorer’s ground position in the West Arunta from 267 square kilometres to more than 1,500sq km.

The decision to apply for the areas followed a review of regional exploration potential with WA1 managing director Paul Savich highlighting the swiftness required to secure opportunities given the current pace of exploration interest in the region.

“Our new tenement applications cover areas interpreted to contain the Dwarf Well Granite and the Carrington Suite Granite and Gneiss units.”

Mr Savich said these granites, as well as the Mt Webb Granite, could be key granitic intrusive units correlated with IOCG potential.

“Alternatively, these granites may be basement in which case later Mt Webb-age granites may be related to mineralisation in the West Arunta region,” he added.

WA1 believe detailed geophysical work can refine the company’s understanding of the new prospective areas given its ability to define important new deposit-scale anomalies that area not observable in regional datasets and could be prospective for IOCG-style mineralisation.

The company will first seek to incorporate the new tenements within existing native title exploration and land access agreements.

Limited historical exploration

West Arunta is located on the WA side of the state’s border with the Northern Territory, 490km south of Halls Creek (WA) and 700km west of Alice Springs (NT).

Historical exploration for gold and copper was largely in the form of reconnaissance airborne geophysics, limited ground geophysical surveys and soil sampling. Drilling within the granted tenement area is limited to a single diamond hole drilled in 2010.

In late 2020, Encounter Resources drilled a single diamond hole in proximity to the project, which successfully intersected hydrothermally altered mafic intrusions with a distinctive IOCG geochemical signature and altered potassic granite.

Early last year, Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) applied for significant landholdings in the region and entered into a staged $58.5 million farm-in and joint venture agreement in five tenements held by Tali Resources.

WA1’s new exploration licence applications E80/5752 and E80/5753 consolidate the company’s landholdings southwest of the Pachpadra, Urmia and Sambhar prospects and abut the exploration ground now held by Rio.

Exploration program

WA1 listed on the ASX earlier this month following an initial public offering that raised $4.5 million to fund initial exploration across its three WA projects, West Arunta, Madura and Hidden Valley.

The company said it is currently in the process of finalising field programs scheduled to start as soon as the field season opens in late this quarter/early next quarter.

Initial activities will include geological mapping and geochemical sampling with the results expected to assist in refining previously identified exploration targets ahead of a maiden reconnaissance drilling program planned for mid-year.