Kincora Copper has made a major amendment to its existing earn-in and joint venture (JV) agreement with AngloGold Ashanti Australia, a subsidiary of AngloGold Ashanti, facilitating expanded exploration in the Northern Junee-Narromine Belt (NJNB) in Australia.
The amendment will support up to A$100m in total expenditure for a second JV in the NJNB of the Macquarie Arc in central-west New South Wales.
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This region is recognised for its potential to host new district-scale porphyry deposits, similar to the major Cadia-Ridgeway deposit.
The agreement covers the Nyngan South, Nevertire South and Mulla projects.
The multi-phase agreement was initially signed in May 2024.
Under the terms of the amended agreement, in stage one, AngloGold may earn a 70% interest in the new tenements by investing A$25m over seven years, with the option to earn an additional 10% by completing a pre-feasibility study or funding a further A$25m over three years.
Kincora will initially operate and conduct exploration activities, with both parties contributing to an exploration management committee.
Stage two will have the option to increase the stake to 80% through further funding and/or studies.
The two JVs will span more than 100km of continuous strike, encompassing five projects covering over 2,350km².
First-phase drilling is under way at Nyngan and drilling at Nevertire and Nevertire South will begin shortly.
Kincora Copper VP of exploration Peter Leaman and technical committee chair John Holliday said: “We are very pleased to broaden our partnership with AngloGold Ashanti. It comes as we continue to progress our ongoing exploration programme at the Nyngan project, with a ground gravity survey and hole 12 of the scout drilling programme recently completed.”
The revised agreement aligns with the interests of Kincora shareholders, potentially carrying them to a stage comparable to four pre-development discoveries in the Vicuña district, which have a valuation exceeding A$10bn.
AngloGold Ashanti has already committed more than A$14m in the NJNB, demonstrating its commitment as a greenfield explorer.
Kincora’s project generator funding model has unlocked more than A$110m of potential partner funding for eight earlier-stage porphyry projects
Partners include AngloGold Ashanti, Fleet Space Technologies, Earth AI and Orbminco, with Kincora retaining operational control over the NJNB projects and receiving a 10% management fee on expenditures.
The company’s strategy involves managing exploration budgets of more than A$10m per annum, ensuring self-funding through project management fees and maintaining partnerships with industry producers and explorers.
The exploration activities at Nyngan, Nevertire and Nevertire South are expected to continue into the third quarter of 2025.
The agreement’s amendments are subject to ministerial consent within six months, with the potential to accelerate all expenditure timelines.
