Today, OZ Minerals presented an update on the Carrapateena resource and nearby discoveries at the ‘2013 SA Exploration and Mining Conference’.

The Carrapateena project and mineralisation discovered at Khamsin and Fremantle Doctor are all located in the Stuart Shelf region of the Gawler Craton. South Australia’s Gawler Craton also hosts Olympic Dam and Prominent Hill.
The Annual Carrapateena Resource update, also released today, once again confirms that Carrapateena is Australia’s largest undeveloped copper project.

The Resource estimated in this 2013 update has been increased from 760Mt in 2012 to 800Mt.*

Data from an additional seven holes (including five wedged holes) totalling 11,187m were included in the modelling, bringing the total number of holes and metres included to 100 and 65,690km respectively.

Total Indicated and Inferred Resources (at a 0.3 percent copper cut-off) have increased from 760Mt at 0.8 percent copper, 0.3g/t Au for 5.9Mt of contained copper and 7.3Moz of contained gold to 800Mt at 0.8 percent copper, 0.3g/t gold for 6.3Mt copper and 8.4Moz of gold;
 an increase in tonnage of 5 percent,
 an increase in contained copper of 7 percent and
 an increase in contained gold of 14 percent.

OZ Minerals’ CEO and Managing Director, Terry Burgess said ‘this update demonstrates that we have a very significant copper resource in the global context. Carrapateena also has the added significant benefit of being located in a highly favourable mining destination and in a district which is demonstrating potential to host further deposits’.

The increase is mainly attributable to the additional drilling information which has allowed geologists to better understand and interpret the deeper parts of the deposit and extend the envelope of the copper mineralisation.

The current phase of the Resource delineation program has now been completed and is available to inform the Pre-Feasibility study currently underway for the Carrapateena project.

Khamsin and Fremantle Doctor Prospects Significant mineralisation was discovered at the Khamsin Prospect in January 2013. Khamsin is located approximately 10 kilometres north west of the Carrapateena project. Drilling throughout 2013 returned significant results which display similar characteristics to those in the main body at Carrapateena. Better results include 701m at 0.83% copper, 0.24g/t gold from 747m, including 63m at 2.75% copper, 0.15g/t gold from 777m. A mineralised body with a footprint projected to surface of approximately 900m by 600m has been identified and mineralisation remains open to the west, south and east. Drilling to extend the boundaries of the known mineralisation continues.

The Fremantle Doctor anomaly is located approximately 2.5 kilometres north east of Carrapateena and is interpreted to be associated with the Carrapateena anomaly. While in the early stages of testing Fremantle Doctor has also returned intersections of Carrapateena-style, copper and gold mineralisation which warrant follow-up testing.