Lightning Minerals advances Mt Turner as district-scale gold ambitions grow

Lightning Minerals Ltd (ASX:L1M, FRA:YZ1) earlier this week confirmed the completion of its Western Zone soil geochemistry program at the wholly owned Mt Turner Gold Project in northern Queensland, marking another step in the company’s push to refine future gold drill targets.

Managing director Troy Brice told Proactive the field campaign was a “major program” for the company, with 551 geochemical samples and a further 12 rock samples collected across the Western Zone. He said the work had been completed “ahead of schedule, under budget and beautifully safely”, with the field team operating in challenging North Queensland exploration conditions.

The program focused on a five-kilometre structural corridor at Mt Turner, which Brice said had been identified as an extension of the mineralised gold system that Lightning Minerals Ltd (ASX:L1M) has been assessing over recent years. He said the work added to the recent Drummer Fault soils campaign and supported the company’s broader geological model.

Brice said the Western Zone corridor abutted the Drummer Fault to the north and was helping confirm the potential scale of the system. He said the program reinforced Lightning Minerals Ltd (ASX:L1M)’s geological understanding and added to its structural model, with the data expected to support the definition of phase three drilling targets later in the exploration season.

A near-term catalyst for investors will be the assay results from the Western Zone program, which Brice said were expected around mid-August. Those results could help the company prioritise targets across the broader Mt Turner system and determine the next stage of drilling.

Brice also pointed to additional upcoming field activity, including work planned at the Warby tungsten target. He said Lightning Minerals Ltd intended to use the exploration season as fully as possible before the wet season arrived toward the end of the year.

The company’s exploration activity at Mt Turner has now included work across the Drummer Fault, Western Zone and Red Hill area, with Brice saying the strategy remained scientific, targeted and selective. He credited the technical team and said the exploration plan was unfolding as hoped, and in some areas exceeding expectations.

Brice said the “strategic approach and the intelligence being applied” to the company’s model was “best in class for a junior exploration company”.

Interview highlights

• Lightning Minerals completed the Western Zone soil geochemistry program at its wholly owned Mt Turner Gold Project in northern Queensland.

• The program collected 551 geochemical soil samples and 12 rock samples.

• Troy Brice said the program was completed safely, ahead of schedule and under budget.

• The work focused on a five-kilometre structural corridor in the Western Zone.

• Brice said the corridor appeared to represent an extension of the mineralised gold system being explored at Mt Turner.

• The program follows the Drummer Fault soils campaign and adds to the company’s broader structural model.

• Assay results are expected around mid-August.

• Lightning Minerals Ltd is planning further work at the Warby tungsten target.

• Brice said the company aims to make full use of the current exploration season before the wet season begins.

• The results are expected to help define phase three drilling targets.

Proactive: Lightning Minerals Ltd has completed its Western Zone soil geochemistry program at the wholly owned Mt Turner Gold Project in northern Queensland. This moves the company closer to refining its next round of gold drill targets. Here to discuss the program and what is to come is Managing Director Troy Brice. Troy, it is good to see you.

Troy Brice: Thanks, Jonathan.

Proactive: Let’s start with this program and what it was designed to test.

Troy Brice: Yes, it was a major program, and I am really proud of the team. The team was up there in some decent heat during the North Queensland exploration season and completed this program, which is significant for us, ahead of schedule, under budget and safely.

The team collected 551 geochemical samples and another dozen rock samples as well. The particular area we are focusing on is this five-kilometre-long structural corridor in the Western Zone of Mt Turner, which we have identified as an extension of the mineralised gold system we have been exploring for the last couple of years.

This adds to the Drummer Fault soils campaign recently, and we have a follow-up program now being planned. We are really pleased with the execution and our observations to date.

Proactive: Troy, that extension gives you an indication of the prospectivity for gold in that area.

Troy Brice: It does. It reinforces the geological understanding of it and it adds to our structural model. This five-kilometre-long corridor abuts the Drummer Fault to the north and is confirming for us so far the extent of this system.

Everything we are doing supports the strategy we defined to the market in April. Our main focus is a gold model at Mt Turner. This advances that for us. This now provides us with additional information to define phase three drilling targets at the end of this season.

Proactive: I want to look a little more broadly at that. You have now completed the work across Drummer Fault, the Western Zone and the Red Hill area. That is all building toward the broader exploration model that you announced when you came into the role.

Troy Brice: It does. We have been very scientific, very targeted and selective, and credit goes to our technical team for what the team is doing and how it is doing that.

The exploration plan that the team has, and that the exploration committee reviews, is unfolding as we would hope and is exceeding expectations in several particular areas.

The next step for us is progressing the assay results, which are due around mid-August. We will now do another program in the coming days, focusing back on the Warby tungsten target to progress that part of the commodity portfolio.

We are going to use this exploration season as much as we can before the wet comes down at the end of the year. We will do anything and everything to progress that strategy in the right, safe and methodical way.

It is really encouraging to see the way it is being executed by the team on the ground doing the hard yards. From a technical perspective, the strategic approach and the intelligence being applied to building this model is best in class for a junior exploration company.

Proactive: Troy, you are moving really quickly and have been since you came into the role. There is a lot to look forward to as well. Thank you for your time this morning and we will catch up again shortly.

Troy Brice: Thank you, Jonathan.