Capricorn Metals has struck a deal to acquire a package of highly prospective tenements adjacent to its Mt Gibson gold project in the Murchison region of Western Australia.
The tenements, dubbed the Mummaloo project, are currently held by Top Iron and have been mined over the last 10 years for their iron ore, which has historically been shipped from the Port of Geraldton to Chinese customers.
Mummaloo covers approximately 219km2 of tenure and features multiple settings conducive to hosting economic gold deposits.
Capricorn has already identified four target zones for exploration within the project tenure, with the highest priority target located only six kilometres northeast of current Mt Gibson resources.
The deal is worth $3.5 million in total, with Capricorn already having paid Top Iron $100,000 in cash. Capricorn is expected to take control of the tenements by the end of next month.
“The acquisition of the Mummaloo project significantly expands Capricorn’s Mt Gibson exploration footprint and adds highly prospective targets analogous and proximal to the company’s current Mt Gibson resources,” Capricorn executive chair Mark Clark said.
“This provides Capricorn with an outstanding exploration opportunity with a view to adding meaningful additional ore sources to the Mt Gibson operation.
“We look forward to commencing active exploration on the project in 2025.”
The acquisition also includes camp and office facilities currently being used by Capricorn exploration and development team prior to commissioning the company’s 400 room camp at Mt Gibson, which is nearing completion.
The Mummaloo camp will be used as overflow and exploration accommodation going forward as required.
Other assets include small scale crushing and screening equipment, which are from ex-Top Iron magnetite iron ore mining operations, various ancillary equipment and several light vehicles. Capricorn is currently assessing the utility of these assets for future use.