JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Copper/gold miner OZ Minerals has committed to an exploration joint venture (JV) in the Eastern Musgrave province of South Australia, targeting magmatic nickel and copper sulphide systems.
The company announced on Monday that it had entered into an earn-in agreement with unlisted Australian explorer Woomera Exploration, targeting systems similar to those of the Nebo Babel deposits in West Musgrave, about 500 km away.
The Nebo Babel deposits, which OZ Minerals is exploring in a JV with Cassini Resources, recently progressed to a prefeasibility study.
In terms of the Eastern Musgrave JV, OZ Minerals said it would fully fund all exploration activities, including planned electromagnetic surveying where deemed appropriate to refine target models, culminating in about 4 000 m of drilling to test seven targets.
After drilling is complete, OZ Minerals could elect to earn 51% equity in the project by achieving a total spend of A$2.5-million in exploration activity within 18 months. An additional A$5-million for further exploration and drilling will secure a total 75% equity in the project in the following two years.
The latest earn-in JV adds to six other earn-in agreements that OZ Minerals has with explorers.