Tolu Minerals Ltd (ASX:TOK) managing director and CEO Iain Macpherson joins Proactive’s Tylah Tully to discuss the results from a recently completed Phase 1 Airborne Mobile Magneto Telluric (MT) survey over the Tolukuma area in Papua New Guinea.
The survey identified significant copper-gold porphyry and epithermal gold targets with the results supporting the company’s exploration and development strategy, potentially accelerating the expansion of the Tolukuma mine.
Preliminary findings indicate a conductivity anomaly extending over two kilometres beyond Tolukuma’s southern boundary. Additionally, advanced targets such as Belavista, Idave and Karame have been identified, with historical samples from Belavista showing high concentrations of gold, silver, copper and zinc. The porphyry system beneath Tolukuma, referred to as the ‘Tolukuma Porphyry,’ is believed to drive the region’s gold mineralisation.
To date, more than 700 square kilometres of the survey have been completed with the next phase set to cover the company’s Ipi River and Mount Penck tenement areas also in PNG.
Drilling at the newly identified Tolukuma targets will begin after final modelling and structural analysis results are obtained. Macpherson expressed confidence in the preliminary survey results, highlighting the potential for resource growth and increased production.
Argonaut Research also recently completed a three-day site visit to Tolu Minerals’ Tolukuma Gold Project to complete a valuation. Argonaut views the project favourably, seeing it as an opportunity to gain exposure to a potential multi-million-ounce system without needing to fund a new greenfield build in PNG. The company has initiated coverage with a ‘Speculative Buy’ rating and a price target of A$1.60.
The Tolukuma mine operated from 1995 to 2015, producing high-grade gold. During earlier years, the mine produced 55,000 ounces per annum at a grade above 20 g/t. Later, DRD Gold operated the mine, producing 71,000 ounces per annum at a 12 g/t grade. TOK is now working on completing road access to the site, which is expected to reduce logistic costs that previously made up 25-60% of operating expenses.
The project’s mineralisation is considered substantial with an Exploration Target of 2-3 million ounces grading 8-11 g/t reported in December 2023. Argonaut shares a similar view on the project’s potential.
#Proactiveinvestors #ToluMinerals #ASX #MiningExploration #PapuaNewGuinea #CopperGold #PorphyrySystem #EpithermalGold #TolukumaMine #MineralSurvey #MiningTargets #DrillTargets #GoldMining #CopperExploration #MiningUpdates #BelavistaTarget #IdaveKarame #MineralResources #MiningIndustry #ExplorationStrategy #ResourceExpansion #Mineralisation #GoldCopper
#invest #investing #investment #investor #stockmarket #stocks #stock #stockmarketnews
