Buru, Sipa launch WA base metals hunt

Buru Energy and Sipa Resources are continuing their joint venture’s foray into base metals, kicking off diamond drilling at the joint venture's Barbwire Terrace project south-east of Broome in Western Australia. The 50/50 split operation plans to sink up to four holes at nominal depths of up to 500m as they look to test targets along the south-western margin of the Fitzroy Trough.

According to Buru, historic oil, gas and base metal drilling at the project struck carbonate rich host rocks with large-scale zinc halos, however the encouraging base metal sniffs were never followed up.

Buru and its JV partner claim to be targeting a mineralisation across a pair of carbonate host units at Barbwire including Devonian-age equivalents of the Pilbara Formation and Ordovician age structures in the Nita Formation.

Leading up to the diamond probe, the JV partners sifted through geological, geophysical and seismic data to fine-tune target areas and draw up a list of drill sites.

The operation is backed by Western Australia’s Exploration Incentive Scheme, meaning the pair could claim up to a 50 per cent refund of the drilling costs. In addition, the duo has tied down the exploration expertise of a PhD student from the University of Queensland.

The duo is moving swiftly to test the ground, having recently wrapped up site preparations at the project with the help of local social inspectors.

Sipa Resources’ Managing Director, Pip Darvall said:

“It is great to get the drilling underway at Barbwire, where we are testing some big base-metal targets. While a mineralised intercept is obviously first prize, success will also include intersection of the prospective stratigraphy in a structurally favourable location, which will help us vector in to a deposit.”

Buru entered into the agreement with ASX-listed explorer Sipa Resources about two years ago as part of its energy transition strategy. The oil and gas developer earned a 50 per cent interest in Sipa’s tenement by funding the first $250,000 of on-ground activities.

The Barbwire Terrace project area covers the southern margin of the Fitzroy Trough where earlier work established the potential for mineralisation similar to the revered Mississippi Valley Type lead-zinc deposits of the Lennard Shelf.

According to Buru, the high-purity concentrates historically found within the Lennard Shelf’s deposits position the zone as a high-value target area.

When the joint venture deal was completed, Buru’s management said the agreement had merged a raft of mineral and petroleum exploration capabilities to unlock future value at Barbwire.

The project is immediately south-east of Buru’s Canning Basin oil and gas leases, where the company recently tabled its largest JV crude oil lift that raked in about $5.7 million.

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