Broken Hill Prospecting (ASX: BPL, “BPL” or “the Company”) is focussing activities on an eclectic suite of highly prospective exploration and development properties in the Murray Basin of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia, and the Broken Hill region of New South Wales.
Most relevant to current markets is the involvement in the Thackaringa Cobalt Project (“TCP”), with this in a Joint Venture (Thackaringa Joint Venture, “TJV”), with Cobalt Blue (ASX: COB, “COB”), a special purpose vehicle spun out of BPL in early 2017 for the purpose of advancing and developing the TCP. A Pre-feasibility Study (“PFS”) has recently been completed for the Project, with COB fully funding activities under the terms of a Farm-in and Royalty Agreement (the “Agreement”) with BPL. Under the terms of the Agreement (Appendix 1) COB can earn 100% of the TCP, with BPL retaining a 2% net smelter return royalty (“NSR”) on any cobalt produced – COB has thus far earned 51% with COB’s submittal to move to 70% ownership currently being reviewed by the Company.
Also under the terms of the Agreement BPL has retained the right to base and precious metals over the TJV tenements which are located just 25km from Broken Hill; in addition it has over 200km2 of other base and precious metals and industrial minerals rights in the area. Historic and more recent work has highlighted the prospectivity of the tenements for all minerals sought, with this work delineating a number of priority prospects that are now to be followed up in a comprehensive exploration programme – these include prospects hosting Broken Hill style mineralisation. There is also significant potential for the discovery of additional cobalt mineralisation within the TCP, with ~40km of prospective stratigraphy remaining untested.
