True North Copper eyes bigger Qld Cloncurry copper comeback prize

True North Copper’ geotechnical logging of diamond drill core from its Cloncurry copper project.

True North Copper (ASX: TNC) is pushing its Cloncurry copper project towards a December-quarter prefeasibility study (PFS) and ore reserve.

The company is now working through the mine design, metallurgy and resource integration to shape a possible near-term return to copper production within the historic Mount Isa copper belt in northwest Queensland.The company says that with its geotechnical drilling and logging complete and metallurgical test work more than 40 per cent finished, mine engineering studies have now begun. The work will inform pit optimisation, mine scheduling and processing studies, while fresh resource and drilling inputs are being folded into the broader development plan.

True North is also looking to add scale to the development case by integrating its recently consolidated Mongoose resource with the nearby Taipan deposit.

Mongoose currently stands at 3.1 million tonnes grading 0.55 per cent copper and 0.07g/t gold and sits adjacent to Taipan, which adds another 5.21Mt grading 0.57 per cent copper and 0.13g/t gold.

The company’s Carpentaria JV deal also gives True North access to later drilling not included in the current resource, including 107m at 0.51 per cent copper and 0.09g/t gold from 55m, featuring 5m grading 2.09 per cent copper and 0.3g/t gold from 60m.

Those results are now being assessed as part of studies aimed at optimising mine design and scaling up the broader Cloncurry development plan.Wallace North also remains a key growth driver after the company’s 2025 drilling returned 19m at 2.18 per cent copper and 1.76g/t gold from 106m, including 9m at 4.33 per cent copper and 3.64g/t gold from 108m. Follow-up drilling completed this year targeted extensions west of the existing resource and along the broader mineralised system, with assays expected shortly.The latest PFS update follows early-June results from the Great Australia Mine area, where RC drilling returned shallow copper-gold hits including 10m at 0.88 per cent copper and 0.15g/t gold from 78m and 51m at 0.37 per cent copper and 0.07g/t gold from 133m.

True North says its Great Australia, Taipan, Orphan Shear, Wallace North and Wynberg deposits are all on existing mining leases, giving the project a useful head start on approvals and development planning.

The Cloncurry Copper Project PFS is progressing well, with several important milestones now achieved and all major studies advancing in line with our targeted Q4 2026 completion.   True North Copper Managing Director Andrew Mooney

The company says those studies also point to opportunities to enhance scale, flexibility and project economics through Mongoose-Taipan, Wallace North and Wynberg.

The company is also evaluating regional processing options through existing infrastructure at Ernest Henry, Rocklands and Mount Isa.With field programs largely complete, True North’s focus is turning to its Wallace North assays, metallurgy, geotechnical test work and mine engineering to assemble all the required pieces for its December-quarter PFS deadline.If the numbers keep stacking up, Cloncurry could give True North a practical pathway back to copper production while its larger Mt Oxide growth story keeps building in the background.

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