Highlights
- Upon execution of a formal agreement once certain conditions are met, FAU shall pay
Essex an Option Fee comprising 5,000,000 fully paid ordinary FAU shares and 5,000,000 two-year share purchase options exercisable at AUD$0.03 per option and within 220 days fund a minimum AUD$500,000 on exploration of theMt Turner Project , including a detailed induced polarization program over the main Mt Turner mineralized anomaly. Payment of the Option Fee is conditional on 60 days due diligence by FAU, completion byEssex of its share purchase ofKNX Resources Limited , signing of a formal agreement, and TSX Approval (if required). - Subject to completing the minimum expenditure during the Option period and their willingness to proceed, FAU shall pay
Essex a further 10,000,000 fully paid ordinary FAU shares and then shall have the right to earn a 51% interest in the Mt Turner project by spending a further AUD$2,000,000 on exploration over two-years from exercise date of the Option. - At completion of the earn-in, FAU shall then have the right to acquire the remaining 49% interest in Mt Turner by issuing to
Essex either 49% of the equity in a special purpose vehicle formed to hold the Mt Turner project, or that number of shares in FAU equivalent to an independent valuation of the 49%. Essex shall retain a 1.5% net smelter return royalty over the project, which FAU can acquire for the payment of AUD$3,000,000 cash.- FAU considers Mt Turner a strategic acquisition that complements the Australian explorer's existing copper prospects of Dogwood in
Victoria andMabel Creek inSouth Australia .
"We are very pleased that our initial exploration has demonstrated the potential for the discovery of a large copper-molybdenum (with silver and gold) deposit at Mt Turner and resulted in favourable option, earn-in and acquisition terms with FAU.
"Having incubated the project with initial exploration expenditure,
"This project incubation then spinout, particularly where we can retain a royalty and a right to provide stream or project finance, is fundamental to the Company's business growth model."
On
Summary Geology and Mineralization of the
The Mount Turner Property lies in the western portion of the Georgetown Inlier, which constitutes the bulk of the proclaimed
The Proterozoic rocks have been intruded by Siluro-Devonian age granitic rocks during a period of subduction and underplating that is thought to have occurred during the Tabberabberan cycle of the Tasman Orogen (ca 430-380 Ma).
The Georgetown Inlier subsequently experienced a period of felsic intrusion and accompanied sub-aerial volcanism during the Carboniferous to Permian period (ca 350-230 Ma) associated with extension and rifting that developed during the Hunter-Bowen cycle of the Tasman Orogeny. This magmatism is termed the
The Permo-Carboniferous Mt Turner intrusive complex, which is centred within the property, consists of multiple phases of rhyolite to micro-granodiorite dykes, stocks and associated breccias, hosted by Meso-Proterozoic Mount Turner Granite and metasediments of the Palaeo-Proterozoic Lane Creek Formation. The overlying subaerial volcanics are postulated to have preserved the porphyry-style mineralisation.
The property was initially examined during the 1975 field season by geologists of the Australian Government's
The subsequent report (Baker & Horton, 1982) described the intrusive complex as a porphyry copper- molybdenum system with zoned polymetallic mineralisation. The report was based on 11 widespread, shallow vertical drill holes, <100 metres in depth and four diamond holes, only one of which was located near the intrusive centre. None of the drill holes were assayed in their entirety.
A portion of Mt Turner was held by
Exploration results to date by Essex-KNX Joint Venture
The ESX-KNX Mt Turner Property comprises two granted exploration permits totaling approximately 100 sq km.
Soil sampling in a 100m x 100m grid by KGM (2,336 minus 80 mesh and 2,462 BCL samples) and
An aeromagnetic survey (100m flight lines) flown by Mega Uranium in 2006-7 shows a curvilinear NW trending magnetic low corresponding to magnetite destruction alteration, with complex magnetite highs in the centre, which is the classic copper porphyry around a molybdenum rich core signature (See Figure 2). The features in the magnetics are coincident with the copper and molybdenum soil anomalies.
Gold-silver and base metal soil anomalies occurs on the periphery of the copper-molybdenum core zone associated with breccia bodies at Balaclava Hill, immediately to the north west of Mt Turner, in major faults such as the 14 km Drummer
Rock samples collected during detailed mapping by
One Queensland Government drill hole (NS4) to 295m in 1977 drilled peripheral to the porphyry target ended in near ore grade mineralization – 0.187% Cu, 0.075% Mo.
Re-logging of the core from this hole by
The re-logging has also demonstrated early widespread potassic alteration then an overprinting phyllic event (sericite) then a late stage second potassic event associated with multi-stage vein mineralization. This pattern of alternation conforms to the classic model for multi-stage mineralization. The later stage second potassic event towards the end of the hole also suggests that the hole ended above the main mineralization target zone.
The next phase of exploration will involve detailed ground geophysics to define the targets ahead of an initial drilling program.
About
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ISSUED ON BEHALF OF
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www.essexminerals.com
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SOURCE
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