A vast copper and gold mine, east of Tennent Creek, is expected to expand by more than 1000 square kilometres, with the lodgement of two new Exploration Licence Applications.
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Middle Island, a Perth-based mining company, with stakes in the Sandstone gold project in Western Australia's East Murchison region, already holds 10 exploration licences covering 3253 square kilometres in the Barkly region.
Iron ore, copper and gold are the targets. And significant surface copper oxide mineralisation identified immediately south of the expansive site will see a further further 1,158 square kilometres sought out for wealth.
According to a statement from the mining company, Portable X-ray fluorescence analysers (PXRF) revealed readings of copper between 24.8 per cent and 76.2 per cent within the site.
"Given the recent Crosswinds copper discovery, and the lifting of interstate COVID-19 travel restrictions between WA and NT, an application for the formal grant of an initial five Exploration Licences in the immediate vicinity of the Tablelands Highway was lodged with the NT Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade late in December 2020," a spokesman said.
"Written confirmation of the formal grant of these tenements was received within 24 hours of the request.
"A further five Exploration Licences are pending grant at the company's election, while the two new applications have been accepted and will be processed in due course."
The applications extend for over 350km along the axis of the fault-bounded East Tennant Ridge from Tennant Creek, east across the Barkly Tableland, towards the Queensland border near Mt Isa.
Largely unexplored, the quest for wealth within the East Tennant Creek area has swelled since it was selected as one of the focus areas for a four-year EFTF program, a $100.5 million initiative by the Australian Government dedicated to boosting investment in Australian mineral exploration.
The mining company goes as far as saying the initiative has turned the Tennant Creek to Mount Isa region into "one of the most heavily researched and best-imaged lithospheric terranes in the world".
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