East Star awarded second copper porphyry exploration licence in Kazakhstan
Published by Jane Bentham,
Editorial Assistant
Global Mining Review,
East Star Resources Plc, the Kazakhstan focused copper exploration and resource development company, has announced the award of its second copper porphyry exploration licence under the new copper porphyry exploration strategy initially funded through a US$500 000 grant from the BHP Xplor programme.
Highlights:
121 km2 tenement shows historical soil anomalies indicating its potential prospectivity for a copper porphyry deposit.
6 km long and 3 km wide silica lithocap located ~150 km north of the large Kounrad open pit copper mine and smelter (~800 Mt @ 0.62% Cu and up to 0.76 g/t Au).
BHP Xplor grant to cover the cost of all licence fees and the initial work programme.
Together with BHP Xplor, East Star is conducting regional target generation for copper porphyry deposits, principally focused on the Balkash-Ili magmatic arc, host to the Kounrad deposit (~800 Mt @ 0.62% Cu and up to 0.76 g/t Au) and Aktogai-Aidarly deposits (~2.5 Bt @ 0.39% Cu). By applying modern mineral systems concepts with advanced desktop analytical techniques and on-the-ground geological confirmation, East Star intends to secure several further exploration licences within the area of interest for future field work. The BHP Xplor grant will be directed towards licence costs, field programmes, desktop evaluation work, and staff and administrative costs in the execution of the work plan. The programme will be managed by East Star with input from BHP and a wider team of experts.
Chris van Wijk, East Star Technical Director, commented:
“We are delighted to have our second copper porphyry licence granted since the beginning of BHP Xplor programme. This is also the third licence granted to East Star using the newly implemented Kazakh online portal system. This demonstrates that East Star is able to promptly formulate compliant applications for new licences and that the Kazakh ministerial process for granting new applications is working efficiently.
The Snowy Project was subjected to an initial site visit in September 2023 and we were able to confirm several zones of hydrothermal alteration near to a very large silica lithocap which was identified from satellite imagery. We are looking forward to starting our planned programme of geological mapping and soil sampling to advance this project as well as continuing to generate other prospects within our area of interest as part of our BHP Xplor-backed programme.”
Read the article online at: https://www.globalminingreview.com/exploration-development/20032024/east-star-awarded-second-copper-porphyry-exploration-licence-in-kazakhstan/
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