Strategic Energy Resources Limited (ASX:SER) announced that Fortescue has approved a $3 million exploration budget for the Canobie Project in northwest Queensland for the FY25-26 period. Strategic Energy Resources is a specialised under-cover explorer focused on the discovery of world-class Copper deposits in Queensland. The Canobie Project is being explored under a Farm-in and Joint Venture Agreement with FMG Resources Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Fortescue.
The approved budget will fund a diamond drill program exceeding 2,500 metres, designed to test multiple high-priority geophysical targets. This program will be supplemented by further petrology and geochronology studies. SER will continue to act as the operator for the Canobie FJVA. According to SER, details on the individual drill targets will be released following the completion of geophysical modelling.
Dr. David DeTata, Managing Director of Strategic Energy Resources, expressed enthusiasm for the project’s potential. “The approval by Fortescue to spend over $3 million on drilling in the next twelve months at the Canobie Project is a clear signal of Fortescue’s belief in the prospectivity of the project,” he stated. He further noted the potential for a significant copper discovery.
The FY24-25 exploration budget included gravity and Magnetotelluric (MT) surveys to enhance data resolution across the project area. The ground gravity survey was completed last month, and the MT survey, comprising five lines across priority targets, began this week. Preparations are underway for Native Title clearance surveys and earthworks to ensure the drill program proceeds as planned, with the geophysical survey results set to refine the exploration model at Canobie.
