Partnership with AngloGold Ashanti in the Northern Junee-Narromine Belt
In April 2025, Kincora announced a major amendment to the original Earn-in and Joint Venture Agreement with AngloGold Ashanti to now include the Nyngan South, Nevertire South and Mulla projects, which are adjacent to the Nyngan and Nevertire projects (the latter two included in the original May 2024 Agreement) and streamlines exploration across a continuous >100km strike supporting total expenditures of up to $100 million.
Initial scout drilling activities at the Nyngan project commenced late 2024 and are ongoing (at the time of writing in April 2025), following encouraging results for the six holes completed in 4Q’2024 that supported proof of concept of the northern extension of the Macquarie Arc under post mineral cover.
A >400km2 ground gravity survey was completed in 1Q’2025 and has identified a number of new potential targets for drilling with interpretations and discussions for potential follow up drilling ongoing with AngloGold Ashanti. Various coincident magnetic and new gravity anomalies have been identified at both the wider South West and Ace of Spades Targets.
A Stage 2 follow up phase of step out drilling is proposed post completion of the scout drilling program.
Under the amended agreement, planned exploration activities have been expanded to support a first phase drilling program at both the Nevertire and Nevertire South projects with unimpeded access across the consolidated ~8 x 12km Nevertire Magmatic Complex (“NMC”).
Prior explorer drilling at the southern section of the NMC has returned anomalous copper-gold mineralisation, favorable fertility defined by green rock analysis, geochemical zonation and alteration suggestive of an outer porphyry system setting with age dates confirming a highly prospective Phase 4 Macquarie Arc intrusive complex (at approximately 220m depth down hole).
Having secured three prior explorer drill holes at the NMC from the Cadia mine site, a review by Kincora’s technical director John Holliday supports Newcrest prior interpretation that “drilling has identified lithologies, alteration and veining consistent with a setting similar to the Cadia-Ridgeway and Goonumbla porphyry Cu-Au deposits”.
John is a foremost figure on Macquarie Arc porphyry systems having been a principal originator, discoverer and site manager for the Tier 1 Cadia gold-copper porphyry and the Marsden copper gold porphyry deposits.
A priority for the upcoming drilling program is an initial follow up program to prior Newcrest hole ACDNY006 which returned a very encouraging intersection of anomalous copper mineralisation (from basement to end of hole), veining and magnetite alteration situated in a high volcanic-hosted level.
Prior Newcrest drilling supports Kincora’s view of the planned walk up drill targets within the Nevertire South project underpinning the most advanced and geologically prospective porphyry project within the Northern Junee-Narromine Belt (“NJNB”) district.
A planned drilling program seeks to step out from hole ACDNY006 to discover or create a vectoring pattern to a possible deposit and also test open extensions to the NMC.
The drilling programs at the Nyngan, Nevertire and Nevertire South projects are expected to run into the third quarter of 2025, providing a steady stream of news flow and management fees to the Company.
The Macquarie Arc is a proven Tier 1 terrane and Australia’s foremost copper porphyry belt hosting a number of world-class mines
The Northern Junee-Narromine Belt (NJNB) is a largely untested extension of the Macquarie Arc situated under the post-mineral cover
Key terms of the Earn-in and Joint Venture Agreement
The key terms of the amended agreement with AngloGold Ashanti Australia Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of AngloGold Ashanti plc, covering the Nyngan South (Exploration Licence 9708), Nevertire South (Exploration Licence 9710) and Mulla (Exploration License 9320) projects (“New Tenements”), are in addition to the arrangement in respect of the original May 2024 agreement for the Nyngan (Exploration Licence 8929) and Nevertire (Exploration Licence 8960) projects and, in summary, comprise:
- AngloGold may earn a 70% initial interest in the New Tenement by incurring $25 million in total expenditure on exploration in the initial earn-in period of up to seven years upon which a joint venture would be formed (Phase I). This includes a minimum expenditure of $2 million within the first two years (Minimum Obligation). AngloGold is permitted to withdraw from the Agreement after satisfying the Minimum Obligation or payment of any shortfall.
- AngloGold can then earn an additional 10% interest in the New Tenements (for a total interest of 80%) by completing a Pre-Feasibility Study (“PFS”) or by funding a further $25m of expenditure over an additional three years (Phase II).
- Kincora will initially operate and conduct all exploration activities as directed by an Exploration Management Committee that will comprise two members from each party, and be entitled to a 10% management fee.
- The amended agreement is otherwise on terms that are customary for similar agreements and includes the agreed principal terms of the proposed joint venture agreement that will apply if AngloGold earns an interest in the NJNB tenements.
- All expenditure timelines under the Agreement can be accelerated.
- The amendments to the existing agreement are conditional on Ministerial consent being obtained within 6 months.
- The key commercial terms of the second Earn-in and Joint Venture Agreement mirror the original Earn-in and Joint Venture Agreement and together streamlines exploration across a continuous >100km strike, covering five licenses and 2350km2 supporting total expenditures of up to $100 million.
Refer to the May 28, 205 release “AngloGold Ashanti to earn-in to the NJNB Project” for details for the original Earn-in and Joint Venture Agreement for the Nyngan and Nevertire projects.
The Northern Junee-Narromine Belt
The Macquarie Arc is Australia’s premier porphyry copper-gold province being a hotspot for recent corporate activity, over $16 billion of M&A for producing assets and over $385m of exploration earn-in/joint ventures, and exploration success, including two >10Moz gold equivalent discoveries/resource expansions.
Despite regional magnetics effectively mapping the Macquarie Arc volcanic belts. Due to the post mineral cover there has been very limited prior drilling of the extensions of both the Junee-Narromine and Molong volcanic belts relative to the southern more outcropping sections. These more mature southern exploration regions hosts over 160Moz gold equivalent inventory and a number of world-class mines (Cadia, Cowal and Northparkes).
Kincora’s portfolio and the wider NJNB offers new district-scale discovery potential with spatial and temporal settings, coupled with magnetics, gravity and new Ambient Noise Tomography (ANT) surveys, supportive of large-scale targets analogous to porphyry deposits located in the southern section of the Arc. AngloGold Ashanti has secured Earn-in and Joint Venture Agreements with both Kincora and Inflection Resources (AUCU.CSE) (Inflection) covering ~10,000km2 within the NJNB with over A$14 million investment to date (at the time of writing in April 2025). In the last month, AngloGold Ashanti has moved to Phase II of its earn-in agreement with Inflection designating a total of four projects to continue earning into (including two projects adjacent to Kincora’s Nyngan project).
The most recent notable example of a new globally significant emerging porphyry district is the Vicuña district, which is also an extension of a renowned world-class porphyry belt. Vicuña is an extension of the central Andean belts in Argentina on the border of Chile and situated at over 4000m altitude.
Within this district NGEx Resources Inc in 2009 held three early stage exploration projects and at the time had a market capitalisation of approximately C$40 million. These same projects are all still at a pre-development phase but have yielded in four large-scale discoveries currently valued at over $10 billion.
Kincora was an early mover into the Northern Junee-Narromine Belt, securing a district scale portfolio of the interpreted most prospective and shallow to moderate covered part of the northwards extension of the Macquarie Arc under post mineral cover. This portfolio now covers a strike twice the length of the Vicuña district and included in earn-in and agreements with AngloGold Ashanti.
The NJNB is virgin exploration territory and offers new district-scale discovery potential with spatial and temporal settings, coupled with regional magnetics and gravity, supportive of large-scale intrusive complexes and targets analogous to porphyry deposits located in the southern and more mature sections of the Macquarie Arc.
See Kincora’s April 14, 2025 release for the second earn-in agreement with AngloGold, corporate presentations and exploration update releases for further details which are all available on Kincora’s website (www.kincoracopper.com) .