The most obvious consolidation opportunities sit over in the...

The most obvious consolidation opportunities sit over in the eastern fold belt of the Mount Isa inlier, about 70km from Mount Isa.Take a look at a map of who owns what and where, and it is wonder that a wave of consolidation has not kicked off already.One of the more obvious consolidation opportunities was highlighted this week when Carnaby (ASX:CNB, market cap $118m) and Hammer Metals (ASX:HMX, $43m) reported latest exploration results from their respective Mount Hope Central and South Hope projects.They are literally next door to each other and share a mineralised trend that has been yielding nice copper results (38m at 3% copper and 0.3g/t gold for Carnaby announced this week, and 34m at 2.5% copper and 0.5g/t gold for Hammer this week).Carnaby’s Mount Hope Central is the more advanced and has a maiden resource of 8.3Mt at 1.6% copper. It sits on a postage stamp-sized and 0.2g/t gold tenement surrounded by Hammer’s ground.There is nothing to suggest the pair are thinking about consolidating their respective positions. But maybe they should be.Having said that, both companies are much more than their Mount Hope interests. But again, take a look at a map at their broader Inlier positions.In the short-term, both also come with near-term exploration excitement potential.Hammer’s is a lithium drilling program in the New Year at its Yandal project some 38km from Liontown’s (ASX:LTR) Kathleen Valley development while Carnaby has started a maiden drilling program at its Wimberu farm-in project with Rio Tinto within the Inlier.