Carpentaria Province QLD and NT
The Carpentaria Province has been the focus of most of the Company’s exploration since inception in 2003. This province hosts multiple Tier 1 zinc-lead-silver deposits and significant copper-gold and copper-cobalt deposits and is one of the most productive zinc, lead and silver geological terrains in the world.
In northwest Queensland Red Metal’s key copper-gold projects in this province include Gulf, Gidyea, Corkwood and Three Ways in the Cloncurry Terrain while the Lawn Hill project is focused on exploring for large stratabound styles of zinc, lead and silver mineralisation east of the large Century zinc deposit.
[Figure: 1] Carpentaria Province with major mines and prospects and Red Metal project locations.
[Figure: 2] Northward extension of the Cloncurry Terrian: grey scale magnetic image overlain by colour gravity image showing Red Metal project locations.
Gulf and Gidyea Projects: Copper-Gold
The Gulf and Gidyea projects incorporates multiple exploration tenements over several standout geophysical anomalies in an under explored extension to the Cloncurry Terrain in Northwest Queensland which offers scope for large Iron Oxide Copper-Gold (IOCG) breccia systems (Figure 1 and 2).
Exploration in the 2026 field season will follow-up on targets where Red Metal’s regional drilling successfully intersected fertile IOCG breccia systems, with Gulf geophysical targets GT07 and GT06 (Figure 5) the priorities.
[Figure: 3] Gulf Project: Total magnetic image over the Gibsons Tank tenement highlighting key targets and Red Metal drilling.
Corkwood Project: Copper-Gold
The Corkwood project is situated about 100 kilometres northwest of Glencore’s large Ernest Henry copper-gold mine and about 60 kilometres north of the advanced Little Eva copper-gold deposit. Historic exploration drilling over the project has identified favourable porphyritic volcanic host rocks, alteration, trace-element geochemistry and low-grade copper and gold mineralisation typical of that observed in the halo surrounding the Ernest Henry deposit.
Exploration this field season will give priority to the Jimmy’s Creek prospect where past drilling identified wide intercepts of copper and gold with some silver mineralisation associated with a weakly magnetic breccia in a felsic volcanic host rock (refer to Red Metal ASX announcement dated 27 January 2011). Better results included:
- 153 metre at 0.41% copper, 0.1 g/t gold, 10 g/t silver in drill hole CW-10-11, including;
- 32 metres of higher grade at 1.16% copper, 0.3 g/t gold and 24 g/t silver and,
- 211 metres at 0.33% copper, 0.2 g/t gold in drill hole BMD21 and,
- 124 metres @ 0.27% copper, 0.1 g/t gold in drill hole BMD17
Three-dimensional modelling of the magnetic data with this drill data has identified potential for higher-grade extensions down-plunge or along-strike from the existing intercepts for follow-up drill tests (Figure 4).
[Figure 4] Corkwood Project: Three dimensional view of Jimmy’s Creek prospect showing interpreted down plunge extension to wide zone of low grade copper that remains to be drill tested.
Lawn Hill Project: Zinc-Lead-Silver & Copper-Cobalt
This project is located on the Lawn Hill Platform 50 kilometres northeast of the Century zinc-lead mine (Figure 3). It incorporates the advanced Bluebush prospect area where wide spaced, historic core drilling over a 150 square kilometre area has encountered numerous wide intercepts of low-grade zinc, lead and silver mineralisation (Figure 5).
Red Metal’s assessment of the historic data has shown that almost all drilling at the Bluebush prospect has been directed towards ground electromatic or magnetic targets and finding higher-grade, potentially economic, mineralisation has proved a challenge for past explorers.
Red Metal are targeting previously untested high-gravity targets BB1, BB2, BB3 and BB4 in an effort to find more dense, higher-grade deposits of potentially silver-rich, base metal mineralisation.
[Figure 5] Lawn Hill Project, Bluebush Prospect: Top left is an oblique 3D view facing northwest showing historic drilling, high gravity shells (pink-yellow) and high-magnetic shells (brown-grey) from 3D modelling and the previously untested, high-priority, geophysical targets labelled BB1, BB2, BB3 and BB4, and Red Metal’s recent drill hole BBDD24001A on target BB1 (refer Red Metal ASX announcement dated 17 March 2025). Potential for the discovery of dense, stratabound or breccia style copper-silver, silver-lead-zinc, and/or iron sulphide mineralisation is speculated.
Brunette Downs Project: Copper-Cobalt
Located in the Northern Territory this conceptual project targets large Sedimentary-Hosted Copper on the margin of the Greater McArthur River Basin or base of the Georgina Basin. A magneto-telluric survey line completed by Red Metal successfully confirmed the presence of flat-lying conductive stratigraphy – a key host rock for Sedimentary-Hosted copper-cobalt mineralisation. A proof-of-concept drill hole is recommended.
[Figure 6] Brunette Downs: 2D resistivity inversion highlighting flat lying conductive stratigraphy.
Mallapunyah Project: Copper-Cobalt
This project incorporates an application on Aboriginal Land located within the McArthur Basin that targets Sedimentary-Hosted styles of copper mineralisation (Figure 3). A large blind anticline of key stratigraphy adjacent to the deep penetrating Mallapunyah fault is the main target. Anomalous copper and silver in surface stream sediments above the target area support this target concept. A meeting with the traditional owners to discuss Red Metal’s exploration plans is scheduled for 2026.
[Figure 7] Mallapunyah Project: Simplified geology and anomalous copper in stream sediments.