Boadicea welcomes IGO exploration across Fraser Range tenements

 

Boadicea Resources Ltd (ASX:BOA) continues to track an in-ground exploration campaign across its Fraser Range base metal tenements, spearheaded by exploration partner IGO Newsearch Pty Ltd.

In a report by Proactive Investors extensive aircore drilling and heritage negotiations are on the cards for the Western Australia properties, which the IGO subsidiary is exploring under an exclusive five-year agreement.

Boadicea managing director Jon Reynolds said: “The current focus of exploration on the northern tenements highlights the prospectivity of the Boadicea tenure in the Fraser Range with a number of targets that will be tested initially with aircore drilling.

“There is potential for diamond drilling later in 2022 to test high priority targets.”

IGO Newsearch’s exploration campaign could lead to a major payday for Boadicea: if IGO establishes a JORC resource within the five-year period, IGO will fork out $50 million and a 0.75% net smelter royalty to secure BOA’s Fraser Range assets and feed its nickel-hungry mill.

Boadicea and the Fraser Range

In September last year, IGO’s subsidiary executed a conditional sale agreement with the Boadicea team.

Over a five-year term, IGO can exclusively access and explore nine of the 11 Boadicea-owned Fraser Range tenements.

If IGO declares a JORC resource within the five-year exclusivity period, Boadicea will sell and transfer the Fraser Range assets for $50 million.

Boadicea can also snap up a 0.75% net smelter royalty on all revenues generated by the Fraser Range tenements.

As a result, signs of a nickel discovery across any one of the nine exploration licences IGO is exploring could lead to a $50 million payday for Boadicea.

The ASX-lister, named after Celtic warrior Queen Boadicea, is also exploring for nickel, copper and gold across Western Australia’s famed Paterson Province and Queensland’s Charters Towers and Drummond Basin.

 

Recent exploration

Between December and March, IGO Newsearch focused its efforts on the South Plumridge Fraser Range tenements.

Initiatives included:

• Heritage negotiations with the Untiri Pulka (UP) and Upurli Upurli Nguratja (UUN) Native Title claimants; and
• Interpreting surface electromagnetic data for the North Emperor target.

During the reporting period, heritage agreement negotiations continued between IGO and Central Desert Native Title Services (CDNT) on behalf of the UP and UUN Native Title claimants.

IGO anticipates the agreement will be finalised during the next quarter.

The completion of this access and heritage agreement is critical for the commencement of on-ground activities across seven of the tenements, subject to the IGO’s exclusive exploration agreement.

In addition, 49 moving-loop electromagnetic stations were surveyed at North Emperor, following up on an end-of-line response from a 2020 EM survey to the south on an adjoining tenement.

The data collected was generally good quality and defined a number of mid-time conductors.

These weak to moderate conductance features are interpreted to represent conductive stratigraphy and do not represent targets for massive nickel sulphides.

2022 work campaign

Multiple aircore programs have been designed to explore Boadicea’s northern Fraser Range tenements, and the timing of these programs is dependent on heritage agreements and subsequent surveys over the UUN claim area.

Planned activities include AC drilling at the interpreted Ballast Intrusive Complex, as well as the Eggpie, Buckbeak and Beacon targets in the Transline group of South Plumridge tenements.

Finally, IGO is assessing options to test the Hercules and Elara intrusions, which are interpreted to strike onto the Symons Hill licence, with the potential for conceptual diamond drilling.