First Silver Valley results expected by end-July; belt-scale model developed through BHP Xplor faces field tests across Harts Range and Davenport Province, co-funded by NT Geological Survey.
Litchfield Minerals (ASX: LMS) will launch three ground geophysical surveys next month, marking the first field tests of a belt-scale mineral systems framework developed through the BHP Xplor program.
A combined magnetotelluric and gravity survey will target the western tenements near the Oonagalabi project in the Harts Range corridor. The work aims to define geology beneath shallow cover and refine targets for future drilling. Previous studies in the area identified a conductivity anomaly at roughly 2.5 kilometres depth. The new survey builds on a deep-imaging technique Litchfield used previously to extend subsurface coverage across its tenure.
An induced polarisation survey will run at Silver Valley in the southern Davenport Province. Silver Valley hosts epigenetic, structurally controlled, quartz-vein hosted silver-lead-copper mineralisation within the Murray Downs Dome. Reconnaissance rock chip sampling returned assays up to 378g/t silver, 0.9g/t gold, 5.04% copper and 44.9% lead.
The framework being tested treats the broader Aileron-Irindina corridor as an integrated mineral system rather than evaluating individual prospects in isolation. That approach, common among major miners for greenfield discovery, aims to identify fertile belts with multiple deposit types. If validated, the model could open up new exploration targets across a corridor that spans copper, zinc, nickel and gold deposits.
The surveys are co-funded by the Northern Territory Geological Survey with up to $100,000 in support. First results from Silver Valley are expected by the end of July.
By investing in high-quality geological and geophysical data, we are building a stronger technical foundation for future exploration. Managing director Matthew Pustahya said.
If the MT and gravity surveys replicate the known conductivity anomaly near Oonagalabi, the model gains credibility and drilling targets become better defined. At Silver Valley, the IP survey will test for chargeable sulphide bodies consistent with the structural controls seen in rock chips. A failure to match the predicted signatures would weaken the framework's predictive power and delay drill planning.
Pustahya said the results will refine exploration targets progressively. The company has engaged Planetary Geophysics and Australian Geophysical Services to conduct the surveys.
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