Middle Island Resources has picked up an additional 1,363 square kilometres of prospective iron oxide-copper-gold, or “IOCG” ground in the Northern Territory after the Government there lifted an exploration moratorium over the East Tennant province. The company now holds ten exploration licence applications covering 3,253 square kilometres that combined are known as the Barkly Super-Project.
Middle Island has been competing with big guns Rio Tinto and Newcrest for first-mover rights across the East Tennant region and it is now able to officially explore across its land holdings that form a semi-continuous, 350km worth of strike along the axis of the East Tennant Ridge.
The zone stretches from Tennant Creek, east across the Barkly Tableland towards the Queensland border.
Middle Island said that four contending license applications were submitted over the Barkely area, with Newcrest, in particular, having a keen interest in the same area as the junior explorer. Each competing land applicant usually receives a portion of the whole area and Middle Island was allocated between 19% and 95% of each of the four licences it sought.
Tennant Creek is already host to several tier-one mines, having produced 5.5 million ounces of gold, 488,999 tonnes of copper and 5,000 tonnes of bismuth grading 19.3 grams per tonne gold and 2.9% copper to-date.
Middle Island and now its neighboring heavyweight Newcrest, have identified the Barkley area as extensively underexplored, with basement IOCG potential.
The company now has a guaranteed first-mover advantage across a highly prospective region that is also earmarked for deep drilling by the Government this year as part of the pre-competitive research program.
Going into a land ballot with a major seems to indicate the junior explorer just might be on the right track.
Middle Island is aiming to kick off its first exploration campaign during the 2020 dry season once all the regulatory approvals have been met.
Middle Island Managing Director Rick Yeates said: “We are extremely pleased with the outcome of what appears to have been a very equitable process involving the allocation of various competing exploration licence applications within the now former Barkly moratorium area.”
“Middle Island has secured priority areas and targets in several cases, and the allocated areas also include or immediately adjoin three sites planned for much anticipated government stratigraphic basement drilling during 2020.”
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