Boadicea Resources Ltd (ASX:BOA) has enhanced its portfolio of electric vehicle and battery metals assets in Australia’s premier mineral resource regions by entering an agreement to farm into a project in the Eastern Goldfields of WA.
The drill-ready tenement to be known as Kookaburra Well is the company’s second project area in the highly prospective Eastern Goldfields and has multiple rare earth element (REE) and diamond targets.
Many of the easy-to-access shallow targets have already been identified for a drilling campaign, which will reduce assessment and exploration costs.
“Phenomenal growth of demand”
Boadicea managing director Jon Reynolds said: “During the past two years, Boadicea has strategically aligned itself with the exploration of electric vehicle and battery metals.
“The phenomenal growth of demand for these commodities provides the company an outstanding opportunity to discover a highly valued product.
"In line with this strategy, entering the Kookaburra Well farm-in agreement with Autumn Gold provides a low-cost opportunity to test for REE intrusions in the Eastern Goldfields.”
HoA with Autumn Gold
The company has entered a Heads of Agreement (HoA) with Autumn Gold Pty Ltd in relation to four exploration tenements that make up the Kookaburra Well Project, which is about 20 kilometres southwest of Leonora.
One of the exploration licences, E37/1470, has been granted and three are under application with the 125 square kilometre package interpretated as being prospective for kimberlite-hosted diamonds and carbonatite or kimberlite-hosted rare earth elements (REE).
Kookaburra Well location.
Circular magnetic features
Boadicea has completed an assessment of the available magnetic data resulting in the identification of three anomalous circular magnetic features within E37/1470.
Kimberlites have been identified in the region about 16 kilometres to the northwest (unnamed project) and 20 kilometres to the west (Redlings project) of the Kookaburra Well tenement package.
A trench re-sampling program in 2009 at Redlings produced anomalous REE values of 6.98% to 8.04% total REEs.
Drilling at the unnamed project confirmed the presence of kimberlites but were not deemed diamondiferous.
Interpretation of the anomalies estimated that the depth of target is about 50 metres below the surface.
Drill planning
Exploration planning for drill testing of the kimberlite targets has started with permitting and a heritage survey.
In addition, field reconnaissance by Autumn Gold identified outcropping remnant greenstone lithologies, including nickel prospective ultramafic rocks, in the eastern portion of E37/1470.
The area has only been subject to minor nickel exploration in the early 1970s and represents a further exploration target of the project.
Targets “locked in”
"The review of available geophysical data has highlighted a potential anomalous strike length of more than 21 kilometres and Boadicea, through applications and granted licences, has locked in all anomalous targets,” Reynolds said.
"Drill testing is a high priority, which is scheduled for Q4 2022.”
HoA terms
The HoA between Boadicea and Autumn Gold has the following terms:
- Sign on payment of $40,000.
- BOA will complete $650,000 farm-in expenditure over four years for 75% of the project equity.
- Walk away at any time, with no additional cost.
- BOA will manage the exploration licence and meet all expenditure commitments.