Sam Spring, President and CEO, Kincora Copper Ltd. (TSXV & ASX: KCC) discusses their recent discovery at the brownfield Trundle copper-gold project and pipeline of pending assay results, for a further seven prospects, as Kincora positions itself, as the leading pure play porphyry explorer, in Australia’s foremost porphyry region
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By Dr. Allen Alper, PhD Economic Geology and Petrology, Columbia University, NYC, USA
on 5/11/2022
Kincora Copper Ltd. (TSXV & ASX: KCC) is a mineral exploration company, with a portfolio of copper gold projects, in Australia’s foremost porphyry region that have world-class / Tier 1 potential. The Company's flagship project is the Trundle Project, favorably located in Central West New South Wales, where they have recently made a new discovery of a large and well mineralized Southern Extension Zone. Drilling and reviews are ongoing at this discovery zone, and drilling has also recently taken place at Kincora's Fairholme project, which consists of multiple large systems on strike from Cowal, which is Evolution Mining's flagship project (Australia’s third largest gold company). Managed by an industry leading technical team, with a track record of world-class discoveries and unique knowledge of this region, Kincora Copper is looking to create shareholder value, by advancing its project pipeline, via active systematic drilling of advanced projects, with hallmarks to neighboring world-class mines.
Kincora Copper Ltd.
Dr. Allen Alper:
This is Dr. Allen Alper, Editor-in-Chief of Metals News, talking with Sam Spring, who is President and CEO of Kincora Copper. Sam, I wonder if you could give our readers/investors an overview of your Company and what differentiates it from others?
Sam Spring:
At Kincora we're actively drilling and systematically exploring a pipeline of projects in New South Wales, in the Macquarie Arc, which is Australia's leading porphyry copper region that hosts a number of world class mines.
If you're looking for gold rich copper deposits, this region is geologically one of, if not the, leading places, anywhere in the world, very favorably located to infrastructure and in a Tier 1 jurisdiction.
Australia's global ranking for total gold resources is first and it's second for copper, with most of these copper systems coming with significant gold credits.
In the last quarter, we've been drilling two of our advanced exploration projects, Trundle and Fairholme, with news flow pending for both those projects including assay results for 75 holes across 8 prospects.
So what differentiates us? It comes back to basics: Location, Team, Targets and being an active/systematic driller/explorer. I would like to think Kincora has proven itself to be the leading pure play explorer in Australia’s foremost porphyry region.
Dr. Allen Alper:
Well, that sounds like a fair bit of news flow to come! Could you tell us a little bit about your projects and then also your performance portfolio? I'd also be interested in knowing your major accomplishments in 2021 and your plans for 2022.
Sam Spring:
Our flagship project is our Trundle Project. We've been drilling at Trundle for two years and are currently on our thirty-third diamond hole (assay results pending for three holes), and having recently completed shallow air-core drilling, at two other prospects, Dunns and Ravenswood South, with assay results for these 50 holes currently in at the lab.
Trundle sits in the same intrusive complex as Northparkes, which is Australia's second largest porphyry mine that hosts over five and a half million ounces of gold and four and half a million tons of contained copper metal.
We have significant encouragement at the southern Trundle Park prospect, where we've extended the mineralized strike from 700 meters to 1.3 kilometers and made a new discovery, only in the last quarter, which we're calling the Southern Extension Zone (SEZ). We believe this new discovery sits within the largest skarn system in Australia, with some very encouraging grades, but the real prize we are after is hopefully a large and higher-grade causative porphyry source that has cooked up and mineralised this skarn.
So, at Trundle, there's plenty of news flow in the pipeline, from the ongoing diamond drilling, internal/external technical reviews at this discovery zone and also the assay results from the air-core program.
At our Fairholme Project, which is also an advanced exploration project, we've completed five diamond holes that have been announced to market. We've also just completed 22 recent air core holes, with those at the lab and news flow pending.
Fairholme is interesting in that it sits on strike and from Cowal, which is Evolution Mining's flagship project. It is in a prospective geological location, has proven large scale mineralised systems, with hallmarks of the neighboring world class mine and assay results, pending at the lab.
Dr. Allen Alper:
That sounds like the Team has been busy. Could you tell us what your plans are for the rest of 2022?
Sam Spring:
Results of the air core programs will drive the next stages at the Ravenswood’s South and Dunns’ prospects, at the Trundle Project and the six prospects, at the Fairholme Project. But we're drilling at the moment in the Southern Extension Discovery Zone, at Trundle, which we're very excited about. It's a new discovery, as mentioned, that we've only made in the last quarter, and we believe is the largest skarn system in Australia. There are some pretty significant widths and intervals that have been intersected there, some ore grade. We have a review that's ongoing to maximize the geology and vectors for high priority drilling that will take place through the course of 2022. Some independent experts are also assisting with that review. That's something that has certainly captured a number of industry participants’ attention and they and we are very encouraged.
The focus is now vectoring in the source of these fluids, which we think, and hope is a large causative porphyry – like what is seen with Cadia East and the Little Cadia skarn.
Dr. Allen Alper:
Could you tell our readers/investors how important the region is, where you're drilling, and the likelihood of your operating and exploring at district scale for copper and gold?
Sam Spring:
When you look at the Macquarie Arc, it's Australia's leading porphyry belt that hosts Australia's largest gold mine, Cadia. Our Technical Director, John Holliday, was the principal person, who originated, and managed, and led the discovery phases for Cadia. John is still based in the region and very hands on, with our drilling across the district.
What we're basically looking for, at Trundle, is a similar intrusion system to those that host the economic parts of the Cadia and Northparkes systems. Those are very well endowed, and gold rich porphyries.
Where we are drilling, at this Southern Extension Zone discovery, has a number of indications that we're proximal to the causative intrusion and a similarly very endowed porphyry. For example, in these skarn zones we're getting over 100-meter intervals of mineralization and alteration, which provide us clues to follow up, or vectors, to the source – ie the causative intrusions. You see a not dissimilar setting at Cadia, Northparkes and a number of other significant porphyries around the world – like Grasberg, Las Bambas etc.
Dr. Allen Alper:
Oh, that sounds very exciting. Could you tell our readers/investors a little bit about your background, your Team and your Board?
Sam Spring:
I've been with Kincora for almost 10 years now. We were a very active systematic explorer in Mongolia, for a large portion of that, before pivoting to New South Wales in the last couple of years. We've done a deal, with a group called Resilience Mining, who are looking to take on our Mongolian assets and we're expecting to have a large maiden JORC resource and updated further exploration target, for the flagship asset, in that portfolio, Bronze Fox, in the next week or so. The deal with Resilience is looking to put in place a well motivated group to push the Mongolian portfolio forward, with Kincora retaining a non-contributing economic exposure and being focused on our NSW projects.
Our teams and Kincora’s skill set, led by John Holliday, our Technical Director and Peter Leaman, our VP of Exploration, very much copper porphyry specialists. John and Peter have been involved with a number of Tier 1 copper discoveries, a transferable skill set between Mongolia and Australia, and having a competitive advantage in the Macquarie Arc, from John’s previous experience and still being based in the region.
The focus was always world class copper porphyries, in both those jurisdictions. So, to summarize, a very technical, strong Team backed up by a small, but well credentialed Board that has good commercial and legal commodities trading and capital markets experience.
Dr. Allen Alper:
Well, it sounds great. It's great to have such an experienced Team, moving your Company forward, and you have such a strong background in the mining sector. Could you tell our readers/investors a little bit about your capital and share structure?
Sam Spring:
We're listed on the TSXV and ASX. We dual listed on the ASX, in March last year, raising 10 million Aussie. The reason and logic behind that was, with Australian based assets and predominantly, an Australian-based Board and Management, it made more sense for the asset portfolio to be better recognized, in the domestic capital markets.
At the moment we have a market cap of circa $12 million Aussie, cash of about $5 million, last reported, with a number of good institutions on the register. We are well positioned for our immediate priority, which is proving that this Southern Extension Zone at Trundle is what we think it is, converting that from a geological discovery to a commercial discovery and getting the results out for the eight prospects, across two projects, that we currently have in at the lab.
In terms of key takeaway, from the capital structure, it offers significant leverage to exploration success with a very active program ongoing.
Dr. Allen Alper:
That is what investors are looking for. I understand the Team has skin in the game.
Sam Spring:
Yes, the Board and Management are shareholders, we own about 5% of the Company. It’s worth noting that a meaningful portion of the senior Team's remuneration is in shares, where we are looking to maximize the dollars that go into the ground, and also make sure that we're aligned with other shareholders, as shareholders.
Dr. Allen Alper:
Well, that's excellent! Sam, could you tell our readers/investors, the primary reasons they should consider investing in Kincora Copper?
Sam Spring:
One of the key fundamentals, you need in any successful explorer, is the Team. We have an industry leading Technical Team.
Another fundamental is Location. We're based in a Tier one jurisdiction, with excellent prospectively and proven world class mines.
We have Targets that we're drilling that have the hallmarks of these neighboring world class deposits and mines and we're an active and systematic explorer.
We recently made one new discovery. We have drilling results for eight prospects, across two projects, in the lab, with the maiden resource, for our Mongolian portfolio, expected very shortly.
We've positioned the Company as the leading pure play explorer, in Australia's foremost copper porphyry province. And if investors are looking for advanced exploration exposure to copper, I'd like to think that we tick most of the boxes.
Dr. Allen Alper:
Well, that sounds excellent. Is there anything else you'd like to add, Sam?
Sam Spring:
It's very timely to provide an update, given this new discovery zone at Trundle, and a fair bit of news flow in the pipeline. Thank you for the opportunity to provide an update.
Dr. Allen Alper:
I’m very pleased to do so! We’ll publish your press releases, as they come out, so our readers/investors can follow your progress.
https://kincoracopper.com/
Sam Spring
President and Chief Executive Officer
sam.spring@kincoracopper.com
+61431 329 345
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