Australian Securities Exchange (ASX)-listed Aruma Resources has closed its acquisition of copper and uranium exploration assets in South Australia and Queensland.
Aruma finalised the share acquisition agreement with NHM Holdings (Australia) (NMHA), securing the Wilan IOCG-Uranium Project near the Olympic Dam and the Fiery Creek and Bortala Copper Projects in the Mt Isa region.
The settlement of the acquisition involved issuing 26.5 million fully paid ordinary shares of Aruma to shareholders of NMHA and 52.5 million options, in line with the terms previously agreed upon.
These shares are subject to a six-month voluntary escrow period from the date of issue.
Aruma's initial assessment of the projects has yielded encouraging results, with high copper assays of up to 36% reported in rock chip samples at the Fiery Creek Project.
Additionally, several exploration targets have been identified at the Bortala Project.
The company now plans to undertake detailed geophysical surveys, particularly at Fiery Creek, which currently only has regional-level gravity and magnetic data available.
The geophysical surveys conducted by Aruma will generate more detailed data to support the creation of a structural model aimed at discovering Mt Isa-style structurally controlled orebodies.
This data will be crucial in establishing a pipeline of exploration targets. An initial field trip is scheduled to assess the most prospective areas, followed by ground geophysical surveys and progressive drilling of priority targets.
The Wilan Project, encompassing an area of 1,993km², is positioned on the eastern side of the Gawler Craton in South Australia, approximately 140km from BHP's Olympic Dam Deposit.
Fiery Creek and Bortala are in the northern part of the renowned Mt Isa copper-belt, an underexplored region that is home to multiple significant copper mines.
Aruma managing director Glenn Grayson said: “We are delighted to complete this pivotal acquisition, which will see Aruma expand focus into key high-demand commodities, copper and uranium in two of Australia’s pre-eminent, active mineral precincts.
“With the acquisition now complete, we plan to commence targeted, systematic fieldwork programmes across the new projects to define drill targets, with the aim of progressively drill testing priority targets to unlock each project’s full value proposition.”
