The Fairholme project is located along the southern sector of the Junee-Narromine Belt of the Macquarie Arc in the Cowal block with both licenses contiguous to, and on mineralised strike from, Evolution Mining’s flagship Cowal project.
The Cowal mine hosts a cluster of epithermal, quartz-carbonate-base metal-gold mineralization deposits across a 7.5 x 2km north-south oriented and structurally controlled “gold corridor”, located on the western edge of Lake Cowal.
Modern exploration in the Cowal region commenced following the discovery of porphyry mineralization in Goonumbla district (Northparkes), seeking to test a similar geophysical profile under generally shallow post mineral cover, with the large low grade E39 porphyry discovery and then Newcrest’s discovery of the Marsden porphyry deposit within the Cowal block (>0.5Mt copper and >1Moz gold). Newcrest undertook the majority of drilling at Fairholme, total prior explorer drilling 62,768m for 641 holes, between 1990-2005.
The last exploration prior to Kincora’s involvement at Fairholme was by Kaizen Discovery earning into the project (an Ivanhoe Electric group company, chairman Robert Friedland). Despite Kaizen recognizing the potential for Cowal style gold deposits (including prior results such as 8m at 5.2g/t Au and 6m at 1.4g/t Au from 114m and 60m depths respectively) its focus was the copper porphyry potential and undertook exploration to moderate-deep depths (including TyphoonTM Induced Polarization/Resistivity survey, magnetics and drilling). Kaizen left the project at the start of the last commodity cycle downturn (March 2016).
In 2015, Evolution Mining acquired the Cowal mine from Barrick and has since grown the gold inventory from 3.4Moz to 9.7Moz (net of 1.7Moz mine depletion), with a target total endowment of 15Moz Au (noting total historical production of 4Moz gold). Evolution is the third largest gold miner on the ASX, currently ramping up underground operations and significantly expanding production from Cowal, which is its flagship operation.
Previous explorers have largely underestimated the scale potential of the gold corridor at Cowal, and no drilling (prior to Kincora) has taken place at Fairholme since Evolutions rapid resource growth with the regions higher level gold endowment now far outshining the deeper copper porphyry potential (the latter generally the focus of previous explorers).
The Fairholme project is host to a number of advanced to early-stage exploration prospects across a 16km north-south mineralised strike, with relatively limited effective previous drilling having identified multiple and large intrusive related mineralised systems. Kincora’s strategy is not restricted to focusing on copper porphyry targets, and seeks to benefit from the various exploration techniques and successes achieved by Evolution at Cowal and other modern exploration techniques applied within the Macquarie Arc.
Kincora’s drilling to date at Fairholme has upgraded and confirmed the highly prospective nature of the project with very strong relatively early stage results in the northern and southern sections of the project.
Activities have confirmed large mineralised footprints near surface (open pit focus to date only), open in all directions, with the next phase of follow up drilling planned at 4 targets (two in the north and two in the south).
From a district perspective in the Macquarie Arc these are stand out targets for their stage given the scale potential and coupled with their location in a world-class geological setting (as evidenced by the resource growth at Cowal and a deposit at Marsden).
Southern targets
The Gateway target is an extensive structurally controlled gold-base metals system at shallow depths. Kincora’s exploration has expanded the systems strike from 600m to over 1.6km, open in all directions, with geochemical zonation occurring outwards of the core-mineralised corridor. Grades of up to 8m @ >5g/t Au at open pit depths (with limited deeper drilling).
Designed programs seek to follow up high-grade 2022 air-core results (up to 3.35g/t Au) across the southern trend of Gateway (towards the “gold corridor” at Cowal) and the previously untested but highly prospective Nerang target (that sits on the structural trend extension) where prior exploration was impacted by access (now resolved).
Northern targets
Kincora’s maiden drilling (air-core) in 2022 successfully expanded single point geochem anomalies into highly prospective targets at the Driftway C and Anomaly 2 targets.
All holes drilled at the Driftway C target returned broad anomalous copper, including end of hole primary mineralisation. The >600ppm Cu footprint remains open in all directions, with higher copper anomalism trending NW along a moderate magnetic high anomaly.
At the Anomaly 2 target, all holes drilled returned anomalous copper, with intrusion related anomalous copper and gold noted in half the holes. Mineralisation includes 9m @ >1 g/t Au and >300ppm Cu.
Discussions with potential asset level partners continue as administration relating to the transfer of 100% ownership of the project to Kincora has just concluded (December 2023).