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Murray Ward
In a savvy move, Locksley Resources has added serious exploration firepower to its New South Wales portfolio, locking up a binding option agreement to buy 100 per cent of the high-grade Iron Duke copper and gold project.
The company is acquiring the asset from ASX-listed Sky Metals, securing a sizeable foothold across 188.3 square kilometres of granted exploration ground in the heart of the prolific Cobar polymetallic district.
Notably, the new ground sits within 15 kilometres of Locksley’s existing Tottenham copper-gold project, opening the door for a coordinated district-scale exploration push across the broader Cobar region. The company says the proximity of both projects could deliver significant geological and operational efficiencies as it expands its regional footprint.
Iron Duke features a high-grade copper and gold quartz-sulphide system hosted within Girilambone group sediments. The steeply dipping, shear-hosted lodes are controlled by the under-explored Iron Duke shear zone.
The project’s mineralisation is confirmed by historical drilling across a 550-metre strike length. The system extends from near surface down to depths of approximately 150 metres and remains open along strike to the south and at depth, offering Locksley a potential pathway for immediate resource growth.
‘Importantly, the acquisition has the potential to materially expand the Tottenham Project’s mineral inventory.’
Locksley Resources technical director Ian Stockton
A historic JORC 2004 inferred resource estimate previously inked for the project stands at 1.3 million tonnes grading one per cent copper and 0.6 grams per tonne(g/t) silver.
Adding to Iron Duke’s credentials, past exploration programs delivered outstanding results, with rock chip and mine dump sampling returning values up to a spectacular 26.1 per cent copper and 0.41g/t gold, with more than half of the samples returning more than one per cent copper.
Historical drilling also added weight with multiple wide, high-grade intercepts, including a hefty 13m clocking 1.56 per cent copper and 4.48g/t gold from 37m.
Another hole landed 24m running at 1.53 per cent copper and 1.55g/t gold from 49m. A further hole hit 31m grading 1.13 per cent copper and 0.96g/t gold from 34m.
The company says the new deal introduces several immediate, drill-ready targets, including untested old-timers’ workings at the Christmas Gift, Monarch, Mount Pleasant and Silver Lining prospects, just 2.5 kilometres south of the historic Iron Duke mine.
Locksley Resources technical director Ian Stockton said: “Iron Duke presents a compelling high-grade copper and gold system with strong structural continuity and clear geological controls on mineralisation.”
While Locksley may have opportunistically added to its Australian portfolio, the company says its primary focus remains the Mojave project in south-eastern California, where it is actively targeting rare earth elements and antimony.
The Mojave project sits within striking distance of MP Materials’ massive Mountain Pass mine, the most significant rare earths deposit outside China. There, the company is executing an aggressive mine-to-market strategy for antimony to re-establish domestic supply chains, backed by downstream technology partnerships with leading United States research institutions.
The broader project also includes the promising El Campo, where rock chip grades of up to 12.1 per cent total rare earth oxide (TREO) have been picked up. A long -awaited drilling program comprising four diamond holes is now underway, with results due shortly.
Back at Iron Duke, the low-upfront option structure has ensured the company can preserve its financial capacity for Mojave while potentially locking in significant copper upside in Australia.
To formalise the transaction, Locksley has paid a A$100,000 fee for a nine-month option period. If Locksley exercises the option, A$500,000 will be payable in either cash and /or shares, with a further A$500,000 milestone payment triggered upon defining a JORC-compliant resource of at least 3 million tonnes at a minimum 1 per cent copper equivalent.
Locksley says it plans to immediately kick off a 2000-metre drilling program during the option window to validate the extensive historical data. The company aims to rapidly advance Iron Duke towards a modern JORC-compliant resource estimate before mapping out possible development pathways under its broader regional strategy.
With high-grade copper hits in the bag and drill rods preparing to spin close to its existing base, Locksley looks well-positioned to potentially unlock a major district-scale copper system.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au
