Westar Resources has secured a A$55,689 ($39,395) grant through Round 19 of the Northern Territory Government’s Geophysics and Drilling Collaborations programme to support an aeromagnetic survey at its Bunda Creek Project in the frontier Birrindudu Basin of Australia.
The planned aeromagnetic survey will cover approximately 569km² of Bunda Creek, which includes the granted exploration licence (EL) EL34118 and a contiguous application, EL34358
The company aims to collect high-resolution data to assess the structural setting of the basin, focusing on identifying basement-tapping faults and zones of potential hydrothermal alteration. Westar is targeting sediment-hosted copper or other base metal deposits in the area. According to Westar, the grant was awarded through a competitive process, with only 26 companies successful in this round.
The Birrindudu Basin has recently been highlighted by the Northern Territory Geological Survey, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation and Geoscience Australia as having potential for copper mineralisation. Studies referenced by Westar indicate the presence of a copper source, evidence that oxidised basinal fluids have leached copper and a suitable reductant within the Amos Knob formation. The survey at Bunda Creek is expected to be combined with a 2013 survey to the west to provide coverage across roughly 1,200km² of the region.