THE TRUNDLE PROJECT
The Trundle Project is located in the Junee-Narromine volcanic belt of the Macquarie Arc in a brownfield setting within the westerly rift separated part of the Northparkes Igneous Complex (“NIC”). Trundle is estimated to potentially host a third to half of the interpreted total NIC.
The eastern section of the NIC, which hosts the Northparkes mine, includes a mineral endowment of approximately 24Moz AuEq (at 0.6% Cu and 0.2g/t Au) across 22 discoveries, of which 9 have proven positive economics or been mined.
The predominate high-grade copper gold deposits in the Macquarie Arc and at the Northparkes mine are pipe like, “finger” or “pencil” porphyries that are vertically extensive but horizontally discrete.
Northparkes is Australia’s second largest porphyry mine, hosting 5 gold rich porphyry deposits within an approximate 2.5 x 4.5km zone, with the core of these systems located predominately at moderate depths.
Outside of the existing mining license, Northparkes is looking to develop its first satellite deposit. The E44 gold-copper skarn deposit is currently at the permitting phases for a potential open pit mine and >20km truck haulage to the existing mill.
Northparkes is operated by China Molybdenum Company Limited (CMOC) who acquired an 80% interest in the project from Rio Tinto in July 2013 for US$820 million (Sumitomo retaining a 20% minority interest) and has since undertaken a material expansion of production and extension of mine life.
In July 2020, Triple Flag Precious Metals Corporation paid US$550 million to secure streaming rights over certain gold and silver production from Northparkes. A Triple Flag virtual mine tour of Northparkes (December 2021) is available is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hr43-cwWccM.
The porphyry intrusion and associated skarn system setting intersected at Trundle is a common geological setting of many large porphyry systems (eg Cadia, Grasberg, Ok Tedi etc). Within the Macquarie Arc, the Big and Little Cadia skarns at Cadia have produced an estimated 140,000t of high-grade copper (5-7%) and greater than 1.5Mt iron ore, and were important to the discovery of multiple adjacent causative intrusions and deposits that make up the largest porphyry system and gold mine in Australia.
Prior to Kincora’s activities, despite 61,146 metres of prior explorer drilling completed at Trundle, only 11 holes (0.5% of holes drilled) have previously been to depths (greater than 250 metres) and in a manner that might test the potential for such a target at the Trundle Project.
This is not withstanding confirmed extensive near surface copper and gold mineralization across greater than a 10km2 north-south strike length and coincident magnetic responses, encouragement at moderate depths from this limited prior deeper drilling and Trundle being located within a brownfield environment to Northparkes.
At the Trundle Project there has only been one prior explorer hole completed following a favourable Typhoon geophysical survey by High Powered Exploration (HPX, led by chairman and CEO Robert Friedland). The Typhoon geophysical system is proprietary and was developed to penetrate deeper than traditional equivalent systems, and in Kincora’s view is industry leading for this system of mineralization. HPX generated 17 new Induced Polarisation (“IP”) anomalies, many of which in Kincora’s view are further supported geologically by vertically extensive porphyry targets extending to moderate depths.
Kincora’s concept is that prior exploration efforts have not been adequately tailored using geochemistry (surface and historic down-hole), combined with deeper IP survey results, modern magnetics and integrated geology and geophysics to systematically rank prospects technically and then explore and test for copper gold mineralized systems at Trundle. Specifically, prior explorer efforts to depths greater than 250m from surface to follow shallow vectors within the skarn mineralised systems within the Northparkes Igneous Complex at Trundle have been inadequate.
For example, at the Trundle Park prospect, the average depth of previous explorer drilling was only 28 metres and defined a 700m gold-copper mineralised strike. Kincora has expanded this search space and significant increased the known mineralised footprint to now a strike of over 1.3km (and open) and depth to almost 750m vertical metres.
Mineralization at 2 targets across ~8.5km N-S strike; both with significant further strike potential
Mordialloc target
- Broad anomalous surface and down-hole mineralization and favourable alteration; typical hallmarks of close proximity to cores of a Macquarie Arc finger porphyry complex
- Multiple systems, intrusions & targeted finger porphyry pipes indicated from geophysics and drilling to date
- Prior limited deeper drilling interpreted to be away from core of intrusive systems
- Large untested target area
Trundle Park target
- Significant at or near surface skarn mineralization, incl. recent high grade zones from Kincora drilling
- Multiple broad skarn horizons to depth
- Improving vectors to expand footprint of the skarn mineralised system potential and targeted large porphyry intrusion system source
- Large untested target area