This article in the Hearld Sun by Cameron England on 13/3/2010 (a year ago to the day) titled -
Heart Of Gold Up For Grabs
The project partners which own the Carrapateena copper and gold project in SA's far north have appointed Rothchilds to find a joint venture partner or buyer for the project.Carrapateena is something of a fairytale story, with RMG Services owner and metallurgist Rudy Gomez putting his own money on the line to drill two holes at the site about 100km SE of the Olympic Dam Copper Gold and Uranium Mine. The SA Govt, through its PACE Program, co funded the drilling which returned a phenominal intersection of 70mts at 3.03% copper and 0.4grams per tonne of gold.
Canadian company Teck came on board in late 2005 and backed up the initial drilling with a 905mt intersection at a grade of 2.17% copper and 0.9 grams per tonne of gold starting from 487m below ground surface.
The depth of the deposit could be a factor in Teck seeking a partner, as it has limited experience in underground mining.
The company has also had a turbulent time during the GFC and could be unwilling to commit to a project needing a substantial capital investment.
It is believed Teck, via its drilling commitments and payment to RMG, has secured a one third stake in Carrapateena, with RMG retaining the rest.The company is believed to have completed 75,000 mts of drilling at the site.
Mr Gomez said while there had been a lot of drilling at the site, there was not enough for a resource statement compliant with Australian Reporting Standards.
"The ore body is quite large." he said
"Teck Cominco had to finish up on the drilling because they have met our agreement, so they were not able to develop a JORC (Australian Standards) Resource, but at the same time the drilling was done very competently.... and the ore body's there, but it is quite large and needs more exploration."
"Now we have to look at what is the best option, whether we look for a J/V partner or whether we sell up".
The Carrapateena project is located within the same geological structure, known as the Gawler Craton, which hosts the Olympic Dam mine and the Prominent Hill copper and gold mine.
However it lies outside the Woomera Prohibited Area, meaning its development would not require Defence Department approval.
OZL Price at posting:
$14.80 Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held
