Simon

Overview

EPM 14694 consists of two separate 2×2 sub-blocks – lying adjacent to Austral Resources Limited’s (ASX: AR1) McLeod Hill ML 5426 (with an MRE of 1.7 Mt @ 0.6% Cu) and their 5,000 tpd Mt. Kelly heap leach and SX-EW processing facility. The tenure is located approximately 90 kilometres NNW of Mt Isa, which is accessible from the sealed Barkly Highway (60 kilometres), then on the unsealed McNamara Highway (55 kilometres) and 4WD tracks on the Carlton Hills Station.

Geology

The Mt. Kelly district copper stratabound mineralisation is fault-bounded and is blanketed by a weathering profile of variable thickness. These features, in conjunction with the styles of the nearby copper ore bodies in the district and the recent successful drilling, and upgraded resource estimate, at McLeod Hill, will inform Ironbark’s work program in advancing the Project.

Limited historic work has been conducted on the Simon tenure. Early (pre-1990s) exploration targeted structurally controlled stratabound base metal and gold mineralisation which identified >250ppm stream sediment copper anomalism in the McLeod Hill area. No drilling has been completed on the tenement.

The nearby Mt. Kelly Cu system is controlled by second order syn-mineral transtensional fault shears, resulting in mini-horst and graben structures where weathering has produced a geochemically zoned target over the Cu sulphide ore body at depth. At McLeod Hill, Aston Metals geologists invoked a hybrid stratabound Cu system, where a jog along the McNamara and Mt. Jeanette fault intersection may have breached a fault ramp that provided the fluid pathway for reduced fluids to be oxidised in the presence of a reductant (carbonaceous shale member of the Gunpowder Formation); the hypothesised source for the Cu metals is the underlying Fiery Creek Volcanics.

Next Steps

The Simon Project has similar geology and fault structures to McLeod Hill and has the potential to host similar stratabound copper mineralisation. Ironbark’s will use these models to create a work program that will systematically test the area for mineralisation. Initially work will involve reconnaissance mapping, rock chip and soil sampling to delineate drill targets. An IP survey across structural corridors to define chargeable anomalies may be conducted.