FAIRHOLME PROJECT
Kincora’s Fairholme project has various hallmarks to the neighboring world-class Cowal mine
Looking for another Cowal deposit, following in the footsteps of significant growth achieved by Evolution
The Fairholme project is located in the southern sector of the Junee-Narromine Belt of the Macquarie Arc in the Cowal block with license contiguous to 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 “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 (>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 (a High-Powered Exploration group company, chairman and CEO Robert Friedland). Despite Kaizen recognizing the potential for Cowal style gold deposits its focus was the copper porphyry potential and undertook exploration to moderate-deep depths (including Typhoon Induced Polarization 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 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).
Previous explorers have largely underestimated the scale potential of the gold corridor at Cowal, and no drilling 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).
Evolution has recently approved the A$380m development of an underground mine within the gold corridor at Cowal from the GRE46 deposit to provided increased grade to supplement existing open pit operations (from E42). This approval underpins the planned expansion to 350,000/oz pa production at Cowal (and extends mine life out beyond 17 years). Drilling activities have also commenced at the E39 porphyry target, south of operations, and also within the gold corridor.
Kincora in July 2021 commenced its maiden-drilling program at the Fairholme project. This first phase program of five holes for approximately 1,700 metres at the Fairholme project comprises diamond drilling focused on the Gateway prospect with permits and plans to hand for up to 6,000 metres.
Kincora’s drilling is following up multiple shallow to moderate depth broad, with localized high grade gold intervals from previous explorer drilling (including 124m @ 0.36g/t gold and 0.1% copper from 44m, including 4m @ 1.6 g/t gold and 0.05% copper from 85m, and 8m @ 5.18 g/t gold and 0.09% copper from 114m), within a north-south trending 2km long by 300m wide copper-gold-zinc anomaly (>500ppm copper, >0.1g/t gold & >900ppm zinc).
The Gateway prospect is located 15km north of the Cowal “gold corridor” (current endowment 13.7Moz gold, past production and current resources) along a major linking fault on the western side of the Booberoi shear zone with strong sericite alteration hosted by similar intrusive and volcanic rocks.
Mineral tenure, alteration, zonation, scale and structure provide significant encouragement for the Gateway to host a higher level porphyry associated system located 15km north and on trend from a similar series of intermediate-high sulfidation epithermal and carbonate base metal deposits in the gold corridor at Cowal.
Kincora has designed a maiden first phase drill program that will for the first time on the Fairholme project test the potential for shallow to moderate depth “Cowal-like” gold-base metal epithermal style mineralization, and follow up previous significant gold and copper intervals. Permits are to hand for up to 39-holes for a total of 6,000m of drilling across various prospects.
Initial diamond drilling has commenced at the Gateway prospect (initial five diamond core holes for approximately 1,700m), within a 1km N-S zone of anomalous down-hole gold-copper-zinc mineralization. The initial program will test a 4oom strike within the wider strong sericite alteration zone, within an interpreted favorable structural setting (intersection of NNW and NE faults) following up previous broad and high-grade intervals.
Following completion of the first phase program, a second phase follow up diamond drilling program at Gateway and shallow air-core drilling is planned. The latter is designed to expand and infill a pipeline of gold-copper prospects testing single or multiple point gold and gold and copper anomalies at the Gateway, Driftway C, Anomaly 2, Manna Creek, Glencoe and Kennel prospects, situated across a 15 km N-S strike.
