Australia-listed company Rimfire Pacific Mining has expanded its Broken Hill Cobalt Project in New South Wales (NSW) by acquiring additional exploration licences from Castillo Copper's subsidiary, BHA No.1.

This acquisition more than doubles the project's size, incorporating land adjacent to Rimfire's existing Bald Hill Cobalt prospect.

The company has agreed to acquire a 100% interest in exploration licences EL 8572 and 8599, which are located 30km west of Broken Hill.

In exchange, Rimfire will issue $150,000 (A$223,791) worth of its ordinary shares to Castillo Copper at $0.0186 apiece, based on the five-day Volume Weighted Average Price preceding the agreement's execution.

Furthermore, Rimfire has committed to issuing an additional $150,000 worth of shares to Castillo Copper contingent upon future price performance.

All shares issued under this agreement will be held in escrow for six months.

The newly acquired tenements are geologically similar to the Bald Hill area, known for hosting cobalt sulphide mineralisation, and are thus considered highly prospective for further discoveries.

Last year's diamond drilling at Bald Hill yielded promising results, including an intersection of 125m at 0.13% cobalt from 198m, with a subsection containing 97m at 0.15% cobalt.

The acquisition includes areas with gossanous and copper-stained occurrences, which are of initial interest to Rimfire.

Rimfire plans to commence field reconnaissance on the newly acquired tenements to establish exploration priorities for the expanded Broken Hill Cobalt Project.

This strategic move aims to leverage the potential of the region and enhance the company's cobalt portfolio.

Rimfire managing director David Hutton said: “Expanding the priority Broken Hill Cobalt Project is a strategic development for Rimfire and builds on the game-changing high-grade cobalt sulphide drill intercepts obtained at Bald Hill last year.

“The new tenements are prospective for cobalt, copper and rare earth elements and we look forward to getting on the ground as soon as possible to determine the priorities for exploration follow-up at Broken Hill whilst concurrently advancing the development of our NSW scandium projects.”