OPTION AGREEMENT SIGNED OVER BLUE BORE

COPPER PROJECT NORTHERN TERRITORY

TechGen Metals announced on the 10th December 2024 that it had executed an Option Agreement pursuant to which the Company will be granted an option to acquire an 80% legal and beneficial interest in the Blue Bore Copper Project in the Northern Territory, Australia (“Project”).

The Project offers a rare first-mover advantage in an untouched region of the Northern Territory, with exceptional scale potential. Located in a geologically compelling setting analogous to world-class sediment-hosted copper deposits like the Kupferschiefer deposits in Europe, this project presents a unique opportunity to uncover a significant copper discovery. Historical evidence, including potentially anomalous copper levels in a water sample and thick intervals of unexplained blue shale and blue limestone, combined with its proximity to key geological features, positions the Project as a high-upside investment in a region that has never been explored for minerals.

BLUE BORE COPPER PROJECT - STRATEGIC HIGHLIGHTS
    • A Unique Copper Opportunity in an Untouched Region: A conceptual copper project located in an unexplored region of the Northern Territory with no previous mineral exploration activity, offering first-mover advantage and significant scale potential.
    • Historic Water Bore Evidence: A 315-metre-thick interval of blue rocks (blue shale and blue limestone) was logged between 27 and 342 metres downhole in a government water bore drilled to 381 metres in January 1900. The source of the blue colour remains unknown, warranting further investigation.
    • Anomalous Copper in Water Sample: A single water sample taken from the bore in August 2000 returned a copper concentration of 653 µg/l (equivalent to 0.653 ppm Cu), which is considered potentially anomalous for a water sample. However, rock samples from the bore were not analysed at the time.
    • Geological Setting: The Project is situated in the intracratonic Pedirka Basin (Permian–Triassic age), overlying the Amadeus and Warburton basins, which in turn sit atop Proterozoic-aged basement rocks4.
    • Prospective for Sediment-Hosted Copper: Geoscience Australia has identified the Amadeus and Warburton basins as prospective for sediment-hosted copper mineralisation2.
    • Proximity to Key Geological Features: Studies show 85% of the world’s sediment-hosted base metal deposits occur within 200 km of thick lithospheric edges.3 The Project is located within this critical 200 km range.

Analogous to World-Class Copper Deposits: The Pedirka Basin is age-equivalent to the Zechstein Basin in Germany-Poland, host to the world-class Kupferschiefer sediment-hosted copper deposits1.

Figure 1: Location of the Blue Bore Project shown on sediment-hosted Cu mineral potential model of Australia (Model 2). From Cloutier et al., 2020.

 

ADDITIONAL DETAILS ON THE BLUE BORE COPPER PROJECT

The Project is located 300 km to the southeast of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory (Figure 2). The Project consists of 6 Exploration Licences, EL33313 – EL33318, covering a combined area of 3,950 km2. The Project is a conceptual grass-roots copper exploration project which the Company considers high-risk yet potentially high-reward. The Project area has not been previously explored for minerals.

Some intriguing information comes from a government water bore drilled within the southern Project area in January 1900 (Figure 2 & 3). A 315-metre-thick interval of blue rocks (blue shale & blue limestone) was logged in the hole from 27 metres downhole through to 342 metres downhole with the hole ending at a 381-metre depth. A depiction of the geological log of the water bore is shown as Figure 3. The source of the blue colour referred to in the water bore logs is currently unknown and no mention of mineralogy or the potential cause of the blue colour is made in the water bore log.

A single water sample taken from a pool of water at the water bore in August 2000 returned a copper analysis of 653 µg/l (equivalent to 0.653 ppm Cu) which is considered potentially anomalous for a water sample (Table 1). A single sample is insufficient to gain a clear understanding of copper levels in ground water across the area, therefore additional ground exploration work is required in the near-term. Rock samples from the water bore were not sent for analysis.

LOCATION AND GEOLOGY OF THE BLUE BORE COPPER PROJECT

The Project area is located in the intracratonic Pedirka Basin (Permian – Triassic age), which overlies the Amadeus and Warburton basins which sit above Proterozoic-aged basement rocks (Munson & Ahmad, 2013). The Pedirka Basin is up to 1.5 km thick and contains fluvioglacial, fluvial, lacustrine and coal swamp, and continental red bed deposits. The basin has an area of approximately 100,000 km2 across the Northern Territory, South Australia and Queensland.

Figure 2: Location of the Blue Bore Project, Northern Territory.

 

 

1. Borg., G. et al., 2012. An Overview of the European Kupferschiefer Deposits: in Hedenquist J W, Harris M and Camus F, 2012 Geology and
Genesis of Major Copper Deposits and Districts of the World - A tribute to Richard H Sillitoe, Society of Economic Geologists, Denver, Special
Publication 16, pp. 455-486.
2. Cloutier., J. et al., 2020. National mineral potential assessment for sediment-hosted copper mineral systems in Australia Version 1.0.
Geoscience Australia. Exploring for the Future: Extended Abstracts.
3. Czarnota, K. et al., 2020. Minerals on the edge: sediment-hosted base metal endowment above steps in lithospheric thickness. Geoscience
Australia. Exploring for the Future: Extended Abstracts.
4. Munson., T. J & Ahmad, M., 2013. Chapter 38: Pedirka Basin: in Ahmad M and Munson TJ (compilers). “Geology and mineral resources of the
Northern Territory.” Northern Territory Geological Survey. Special Publication 5.
Hoggard., M. J. et al., 2020. Golbal distribution of sediment-hosted metals controlled by craton edge stability. Nature Geoscience, Vol 13, pp
504-510.
Cox., D. P., Lindsey., D. A., Singer., D. A., Moring, B. C. & Diggles., M. F., 2007. Sediment-hosted copper deposits of the World: Deposit Models
and Database. United States Geological Survey.