Sipa Resources Ltd (ASX:SRI) has planning underway for 2023 drilling of the remaining cohort of untested priority target areas at the Paterson North Project in Western Australia, a farm-in and joint venture with Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) Exploration.
This follows the news that drilling at the remaining 18 holes in the southern part of the project in the Paterson Province returned no significant copper or gold anomalism.
Sipa, which is currently managing the project, began drilling at Paterson North in late June and completed testing several geophysical targets in mid-August.
The company will now take a deeper look at the results and together with additional data generated from this year's field season, will define the next targets for testing in 2023.
The Paterson North project showing the location of 2022 exploration activity.
“Disappointing”
“Significant effort was involved in successfully completing the programs, which have again demonstrated Sipa’s capabilities as operator in challenging conditions,” Sipa Resources’ managing director Pip Darvall said.
“While the results are disappointing, many priority target areas remain to be tested across the project area and the completion of the recent heritage survey will enable a number of these to be drilled in 2023.
“A further review of the results, including known geochemical pathfinders, will be undertaken and incorporated with the additional geophysical data collected during the 2022 field season to assist in confirming higher priority targets for testing in 2023.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Rio Tinto can earn a 70% interest in the project by funding expenditure of $12 million, being $6 million to earn 55% and a further $6 million to earn 70%. It can increase its interest to 80% by sole funding to the earlier of a JORC resource of $1 billion in-ground value or the completion of an ‘order of magnitude study’.
Multi-project explorer
Sipa is focused on the discovery of gold and base metal deposits in Western Australia. Aside from the Paterson Project, the company is pursuing the Barbwire Terrace Base Metals Project in a joint venture with energy company Buru Energy Ltd (ASX:BRU).
At Wolfe Basin, extensive base metal anomalism and gossans have provided several targets for drill testing along a prospective horizon over 40 kilometres long, while its Warralong Project is prospective for intrusion-hosted gold, lithium-tin-tantalum and nickel-copper.
The company’s Skeleton Rocks project covers outcropping and interpreted greenstone units prospective for gold, lithium and nickel-copper-platinum group element deposits, with limited to no previous drilling ever completed in these areas.
Its Murchison Project covers major structures and prospective geology in prolific greenstone belts within WA’s northern goldfields.
In Uganda, Sipa holds a Retention Licence over an intrusive-hosted nickel-copper sulphide discovery with significant scale potential.