Cosmo Metals has identified two promising volcanic massive sulphide targets within the Mt Everest – Mona corridor at its Bingara Project, setting the stage for the first drilling campaign in this historically underexplored VMS belt.
- Two new high-priority VMS targets defined via systematic pXRF geochemistry
- Victory Lode shows strong copper, arsenic, and zinc soil anomalies
- Potential feeder/stockwork zone east of Mt Everest exhibits peak copper levels
- Exploration co-funded by $50,000 NSW Government Critical Minerals grant
- Ground truthing and geophysical surveys planned ahead of inaugural drilling
Exploration Breakthrough at Bingara
Cosmo Metals Ltd (ASX – CMO) has announced a significant advance in its exploration efforts at the Bingara Project in northern New South Wales, revealing two previously untested high-priority volcanic massive sulphide (VMS) targets within the Mt Everest – Mona trend. This discovery follows a systematic geochemical survey using portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) technology, co-funded by a $50,000 grant from the NSW Government’s Critical Minerals and High-Tech Metals Exploration Program.
The Mt Everest – Mona corridor, a largely unexplored +4km by 500m prospective zone within a broader 20km VMS belt, has long been known for historic copper workings but lacked modern systematic exploration. Cosmo’s recent pXRF soil sampling and rock chip analyses have now delineated two compelling targets – the 500m-long Victory Lode anomaly and a potential feeder or stockwork zone east of Mt Everest.
Victory Lode and Feeder Zone – Geological Significance
The Victory Lode target is characterised by a coherent copper anomaly peaking at 1,104 ppm (0.11%) in soil samples, accompanied by coincident arsenic and the highest zinc anomalism recorded in the area. This geochemical signature aligns with a Pathfinder Index composite anomaly, suggesting a robust hydrothermal system. The target lies adjacent to magnetically moderate horizons identified in airborne SAM geophysics, which correlate with known copper mineralisation styles at Mt Everest.
Meanwhile, the potential feeder or stockwork zone east of Mt Everest exhibits the highest copper soil anomaly in the survey, reaching nearly 2,000 ppm (0.2%). Elevated copper and zinc levels in rock chips from mafic outcrops further support this zone’s significance. These anomalies are spatially associated with magnetic features indicative of disseminated magnetite and copper mineralisation, reinforcing the prospectivity of this target.
Strategic Next Steps and Exploration Outlook
Ground truthing of these targets is scheduled for early February 2026, involving detailed rock chip sampling and geological mapping. Concurrently, Cosmo is planning ground geophysical surveys to refine target definitions ahead of the first-ever drilling campaign within this VMS corridor. This drilling, anticipated in the 2026 field season, aims to test the copper-gold-silver-cobalt-zinc mineralisation potential in an area historically devoid of modern drilling.
Cosmo’s Managing Director, Ian Prentice, emphasised the importance of the government’s non-dilutive funding in accelerating exploration progress. He highlighted the similarity of the Mt Everest – Mona trend’s mineralisation style to Cyprus-type VMS deposits found in the Tethyan mineral belt, underscoring the potential for significant discoveries.
Context Within the Broader Bingara Project
The Bingara Project covers over 480 square kilometres in the New England Orogen, a region with a complex tectonic history and a known endowment of gold, copper, antimony, and other critical minerals. Historic mining and sporadic exploration since the 1960s have identified multiple mineralised zones, but Cosmo’s integrated approach combining LiDAR, SAM magnetics, and systematic geochemistry represents a new chapter in unlocking the project’s potential.
While the pXRF results are semi-quantitative and require confirmatory laboratory assays, the coherent geochemical anomalies and geophysical correlations provide a compelling rationale for advancing to drilling. The upcoming exploration activities will be closely watched by investors and analysts eager to see if these targets can translate into defined mineral resources.
Bottom Line?
With first-ever drilling imminent, Cosmo Metals is poised to transform historic copper prospects into modern VMS discoveries.
Questions in the middle?
- Will confirmatory lab assays validate the pXRF-defined copper anomalies?
- How will ground geophysics refine the understanding of subsurface mineralisation?
- What scale and grade might initial drilling reveal within these newly defined targets?