RE: Multicommodity potential in Paterson region after maiden Winu copper resource28 Jul 2020 19:19
Experts say the maiden resource estimate for Rio Tinto's Tier 1 Winu copper-gold discovery confirms the rationale for the consolidation of Western Australia's Paterson region by the iron ore major. Other companies such as Newcrest Mining Ltd. and IGO Ltd. are also on the hunt in the area, which could well throw up additional commodities.
Rio Tinto unveiled the maiden resource of 503 million tonnes grading 0.45% copper equivalent at a 0.2% copper equivalent cutoff on July 27, along with the discovery of gold-dominant mineralization 2 kilometers east at the Ngapakarra prospect.
The company also announced a number of other "encouraging" drilling results near Winu, leading it to believe in the likelihood of developing "multiple ore bodies" within one mineralization system.
Rio Tinto is targeting open pit development with first production at 7 million tonnes per annum by 2023, according to company documents cited earlier in July by The Australian.
The company started a 13,000-meter drill program on the Calibre deposit within the Citadel project 45 kilometers east of Winu in May with joint venture partner Antipa Minerals Ltd., which also recently enticed IGO to farm into its Paterson copper-gold project.
Multicommodity potential
Though Winu is relatively low grade, Antipa was convinced when it moved into the region that Paterson had Tier 1 potential for high grades, according to Executive Chairman Stephen Power. He noted that the Telfer copper-gold project was mined at grades in excess of 10 g/t over a decade ago.
"The province can throw up anything. It's not restricted to gold-copper," Power told S&P Global Market Intelligence. He said the polymetallic O'Callaghans deposit 10 kilometers south of Telfer has over 5% of the world's tungsten, as well as copper, zinc and lead.
Rio Tinto growth and innovation group executive Stephen McIntosh said in a statement that the company had only explored about 2% of its tenements in the region. Power said it was telling that Winu's resource only went down to about 200 meters, though Rio Tinto had drilled down to about 800 meters.
IGO also executed a farm-in and joint venture term sheet on Metals X Ltd.'s Paterson exploration project in June, which could end up carrying the latter to the completion of a pre-feasibility study on a new mineral discovery.
Iron ore major Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. farmed into Carawine Resources Ltd.'s Paterson base metals project in November 2019, as part of a broader diversification strategy into battery minerals. Rio Tinto may also earn up to 80% in the Baton and Red Dog tenements within the same project.
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