Copper-gold explorer and hybrid prospect generator Kincora Copper Limited (Kincora) is pleased to provide an update on planned sole funded exploration over the upcoming Spring and Summer field season including over 25,000 meters of air-core drilling across four projects in Central West NSW, Australia.
Kincora's NSW Project Portfolio. Eight projects in total, including the Northern Junee Narromine Belt project funded by and in partnership with AngloGold Ashanti where drilling is ongoing. Recent diamond drilling has taken place at the Condobolin project, results pending, with air-core drilling proposed at the Nyngan West, Fairholme, Cowal East and Trundle projects. Image Credit: Kincora Copper Limited
The programs align with the Company's hybrid prospect generator model, under which partners fund the majority of exploration expenditure with Kincora generating large-scale porphyry system targets. The air-core programs complement ongoing asset-level partner discussions and are expected to add scale and value while upgrading Kincora's geological concepts.
Highlights
- Sole funded budget of up to A$3-million
- Board approval for extensive air-core drilling seeking to systematically and cost effectively advance 17 targets across four projects (Nyngan West, Fairholme, Cowal East and Trundle) expanding existing known mineralized porphyry systems and testing of new targets.
- Formal process with potential new asset level partners progressing with strong interest.
- Kincora's net cash position is forecast to further increase in both September and the December quarter with further receipt of proceeds from the US$10-million divestment of our Mongolian projects. Kincora's last reported cash balance was A$12-million.
- Programs for 340 holes and over 25,000 meters
- Nyngan West: Maiden drilling across both ultramafic and Macquarie Arc porphyry targets.
- Fairholme: Seeking to expand a structurally controlled gold system at the Gateway target from a 1.6 km to 2.6 km strike, advance the adjacent Dungarvan target and expand three porphyry copper system targets in the northern portion of the license. Maiden drilling proposed across the strategically located southern Nerang target.
- Cowal East: Series of drill lines across six targets stepping out from two known intrusive systems and maiden drilling of regionally significant geophysical anomalies.
- Trundle: Very shallow drilling across a total of 19 km2 area in the north, south and Dunns section of the project seeking to replicate the success of similar programs at the Northparkes project that have led to multiple porphyry copper-gold deposit discoveries situated within the same interpreted caldera.
- Condobolin update: Full assay results pending for the completed 9-hole, 2,615 meter program with localized higher-grade gold and base metals. Independent review proposed to confirm interpretation of a Reduced Intrusion System geological target model and refine follow up.
- New opportunities: Kincora continues to review a pipeline of new opportunities where it has a competitive advantage to add shareholder value including recent claim extensions of targets at the Fairholme and Cowal East projects. The Company is proactively utilizing Geomorphic AI's proprietary system in the review process with thirty reviews undertaken to date.
President & CEO, Sam Spring, commented:
"We are excited to embark on an extensive air-core drilling program over the upcoming Spring and Summer field season, systematically advancing four key projects across our NSW portfolio.
Our projects and targets compete for capital and resourcing. These programs are designed to quickly and cost effectively test and advance our geological concepts, add scale and value, and position the highest-priority opportunities for larger-scale exploration.
Importantly, this work complements our hybrid prospect generator strategy. Following extensive independent, internal and next-generation technical reviews, we have commenced a formal process with potential new asset-level partners for a number of our more advanced and brownfield porphyry projects with strong initial interest. The planned sole funded drilling programs will complement this process.
With partner-funded drilling by AngloGold Ashanti continuing, management fee income being generated and further proceeds expected from the US$10-million divestment of our Mongolian portfolio, Kincora is well positioned to fund these programs while continuing to grow our net cash position and pursue new growth opportunities."
Strategy and Project Overview
As part of Kincora's ongoing portfolio review process, the Company's Technical Committee has evaluated the exploration and corporate strategy for each of its wholly owned NSW projects, with a focus on systematically advancing opportunities and generating shareholder value.
These reviews consider both technical and commercial factors in-line with the Company's hybrid prospector generator model, under which the majority of exploration expenditure is funded by asset level partners. Kincora's role is to secure prospective ground and undertake earlier stage, lower cost exploration activities to advance and validate geological concepts ahead of larger-scale drilling programs.
Recent internal and independent reviews across the portfolio have identified significant open and highly prospective areas within various wholly owned projects where extensions of mineralization and/or open geophysical anomalies currently lack sufficient coverage to support deeper drilling. All targets and projects are ranked and compete for capital and resources, taking into account technical merit and operational considerations. From this process 17 targets have been prioritized for drilling during the upcoming Spring and Summer field season, when ground conditions and access are generally favorable for air-core drilling.
As discussions with potential partners advance around earn-in and joint venture funding models capable of supporting multi-year, multi-phase drilling, Kincora has also pegged open ground adjacent to priority targets at the Cowal East and Fairholme projects. The Company is now seeking to sole fund over 25,000 meters of air-core drilling at four projects. These programs are in addition to ongoing partner-funded drilling with AngloGold Ashanti, which has been underway since the 2025 end of year holiday break.
Air-core drilling is a fast and cost-effective technique for collecting basement samples under shallow cover to test and refine target areas mapping mineralization, alteration, lithology and depth. These results help generate, test and refine targets and this technique has been a key phase in many significant discoveries in the Lachlan Fold Belt.
The spacing of Kincora's programs are reflective of the nature of the target, stage of exploration at the target and seeking to gain coverage over significant geophysical anomalies to help refine and determine where more detailed and expensive drilling is warranted.
Nyngan West Project
The Nyngan West project includes a single large license (207.4 km2) with no outcrop and has not previously been drill tested or basement rocks sampled. The project is prospective for two different mineral systems and is located to the immediate west of the Company's Nyngan project which is included in an earn-in and joint venture agreement with AngloGold Ashanti where drilling is ongoing testing maiden porphyry system targets. The program at Nyngan West is expected to be completed before year end.
Sole funded Kincora drilling will test two porphyry targets for potential extensions of the Junee-Narromine Belt of the Macquarie Arc under relatively shallow interpreted cover.
Drilling is also proposed to test a regionally significant magnetic high, gravity low anomaly and structurally controlled extensions interpreted to be part of the Fifield Suite. These targets are highly prospective for various critical minerals including scandium, nickel and cobalt, which are often hosted on similar magnetic highs to the west of the Junee-Narromine Belt.
Such settings host Sunrise Energy Metals Limited's (SRL.ASX, market capitalization A$2.9-billion) namesake project and adjacent ground to Nyngan West.
Fairholme Project
Previous drilling by major mining companies, predominately Newcrest, has defined an extensive structurally controlled gold with base metals mineralized footprint in the south of the project at the Gateway target and several earlier stage porphyry copper targets to the north.
Previous exploration predominately focused on a traditional Macquarie Arc porphyry copper deposit model rather than the recent Cowal-style epithermal gold and/or hybrid porphyry copper-gold methodology, often off the shoulders of such geophysical anomalies and with greater weighting on geochemical vectors and structure. This newer exploration model has resulted in significant recent exploration success in the Macquarie Arc by Evolution Mining at the Cowal mine, Alkane Resources at Boda-Kaiser deposit, Waratah Minerals at Spur discovery and LinQ Minerals at the Dam/Gidginbung projects.
Koonenberry Gold is shortly planning sole funded drilling at its Wilga project west of Kincora's Fairholme project (and noting Newmont is earning into Koonenberry Gold's Fairholme project immediately adjacent to the north of our Fairholme project).
Initial air-core and diamond drilling by Kincora has already expanded the structurally controlled gold and base metals system at the Gateway target from 600 meters to 1,600 meters with the proposed program seeking to expand this a further kilometer, as well as advance the adjacent Dungarvan target. Follow up step out drilling is also proposed at three highly prospective porphyry copper targets in the northern portion of the license, Anomaly 2, Driftway C and Manna Creek.
Land access and maiden drilling are proposed across the strategically located southern Nerang prospect. Drilling at Fairholme is expected to commence immediately after the Christmas-New Year break.
Cowal East Project
Previously the focus of limited drilling by BHP and Newcrest, the Cowal East project sits immediately to the east, on the other side of Lake Cowal to Evolution Mining's flagship Cowal mine and as close as 4 km north of the Marsden porphyry copper-gold deposit. Like other projects on the Cowal Igneous Complex, there is limited outcrop with basement masked by relatively shallow post mineral cover.
Earlier in 2026, Kincora completed a 'traditional' ground gravity survey which upgraded various targets, with Atomionics Pte Ltd's next generation 'quantum" gravity survey scheduled to commence in November.
Kincora has designed a series of drill lines across six targets stepping out from two known Macquarie Arc intrusive complexes and maiden drilling of regionally significant geophysical anomalies testing similar targets and settings that led to the discovery of Marsden.
Trundle Project
Kincora's Trundle project is hosted in the interpreted western rift of the Northparkes Igneous Complex and with previous drilling predominately by the major mining companies returning large mineralized footprints at/near surface in the north and south of the license.
Recently completed internal and independent reviews have identified multiple prospective and open mineralized intrusion centers, seeking to test more optimal interplays of structures occurring along prospective zones characterized by strong gradients.
Very shallow drilling across a total of 19 km2 area in the north, south and Dunns section of the project is seeking to replicate the success of similar programs at the Northparkes mine and other side of the same interpreted caldera that have led to multiple porphyry copper-gold deposit discoveries, including the E44 deposit which is currently the focus of a multiple rig program and potentially the first satellite deposit to the existing mill.