Great Southern fires up rig in hunt for monster Qld gold-copper riches
The program is targeting big-ticket induced polarisation (IP) anomalies at two key prospects dubbed Leichhardt Creek and Mt Dillon. Both targets show the geological hallmarks of large-scale intrusion-related gold-copper-silver systems.
The campaign is being funded by South African mining juggernaut Gold Fields, which liked what it saw at the project and inked a $15 million earn-in joint venture in 2023 to secure up to 75 per cent of the sprawling Queensland play.
The deal gives Gold Fields exposure to the entire province-scale project, which stretches across 11 exploration licences in a region teeming with potential.
The move came after Great Southern pinpointed 29 promising targets in outcropping mineralisation and through geochemical surveys over 4 years of exploration. For Gold Fields, it was enough to back the junior explorer with serious firepower.
The joint venture agreement was seen as a strong vote of confidence in what remains one of Australia's most underexplored frontiers, 100 kilometres southeast of Townsville.
At Leichhardt Creek, the drill rig is set to punch out three deep holes for a total of 2200 metres. The first hole will plunge 1000m in depth and will test a shallow, arch-shaped IP chargeability anomaly. Gold Fields management says this signature looks eerily like the 3-million-ounce-plus Mount Leyshon gold-silver mine, positioned 120km west.
The rig will then pivot to a second hole to zero in on a potential mineralisation feeder mapped from earlier aeromagnetic data, before plunging 800m to chase another juicy chargeability anomaly.
A third hole will home in on the heart of the second anomaly, where conductivity readings have topped 50 millivolts per volt.
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The big day has finally arrived after Great Southern Mining and Gold Fields Limited kicked off a high-stakes diamond drilling campaign at their Edinburgh Park project in Far North Queensland in a move that could unearth the region's next major gold-copper system. The program is targeting big-ticket induced polarisation (IP) anomalies at two key prospects dubbed Leichhardt Creek and Mt Dillon. Both targets show the geological hallmarks of large-scale intrusion-related gold-copper-silver systems. The campaign is being funded by South African mining juggernaut Gold Fields, which liked what it saw at the project and inked a $15 million earn-in joint venture in 2023 to secure up to 75 per cent of the sprawling Queensland play. The deal gives Gold Fields exposure to the entire province-scale project, which stretches across 11 exploration licences in a region teeming with potential. The move came after Great Southern pinpointed 29 promising targets in outcropping mineralisation and through geochemical surveys over 4 years of exploration. For Gold Fields, it was enough to back the junior explorer with serious firepower. The joint venture agreement was seen as a strong vote of confidence in what remains one of Australia's most underexplored frontiers, 100 kilometres southeast of Townsville. At Leichhardt Creek, the drill rig is set to punch out three deep holes for a total of 2200 metres. The first hole will plunge 1000m in depth and will test a shallow, arch-shaped IP chargeability anomaly. Gold Fields management says this signature looks eerily like the 3-million-ounce-plus Mount Leyshon gold-silver mine, positioned 120km west. The rig will then pivot to a second hole to zero in on a potential mineralisation feeder mapped from earlier aeromagnetic data, before plunging 800m to chase another juicy chargeability anomaly. A third hole will home in on the heart of the second anomaly, where conductivity readings have topped 50 millivolts per volt.
