Encounter Resources (ASX:ENR) and joint venture partner South32 have commenced further exploration activities at their Jessica copper project in the Northern Territory. Encounter Resources is an Australian Securities Exchange (ASX)-listed company focused on discovering major mineral deposits. South32 is a diversified global metals and mining company with a portfolio of high-quality, well-maintained operations.
The new program of work under Encounter’s farm-in agreement with a wholly-owned subsidiary of South32 includes a large program of geophysics and drilling planned in 2025. The program will begin with a MIMDAS geophysical survey at Zeta, followed by a 2,640km airborne electromagnetics survey in August-September 2025, co-funded by the NT Geophysics and Drilling Collaborations program.
Executive chair Will Robinson stated that the geophysical work would help focus planning for the diamond drilling Encounter has scheduled to begin in October. Previous scout drilling at Zeta identified multiple iron oxide copper-gold (IOCG) indicators, including chalcopyrite and bornite veins, and intense, pervasive red rock hematite alteration interpreted as a distal alteration signature to a potential IOCG-style mineral system. According to Mr. Robinson, MIMDAS is well-suited for exploring at depth for less conductive bodies such as IOCG deposits, which are not often associated with massive sulphides.
The Encounter-South32 JV has elected to expand their ground at Jessica after reviewing drilling results from 2024. Previous drilling intersected zones of hematite alteration and quartz carbonate. Seismic reprocessing and gravity data identified a series of targets for drilling, including the Zeta IOCG target, a significant gravity feature coincident with a prominent magnetic feature on the margin of a large interpreted intrusive body. South32’s farm-in at Jessica, which traces back to 2022, will wholly fund initial exploration, with Encounter carried through to the completion of a scoping study. The Jessica project covers approximately 8,700 sq km along key structural corridors east of Tennant Creek and is prospective for sediment-hosted copper and IOCG-style deposits.
