LCL Resources Secures Kau Creek Licence with Promising Historic Gold-Silver Results

Kau Creek Licence Grant Consolidates Ono Project Tenure

LCL Resources (ASX:LCL) has secured a pivotal exploration licence for Kau Creek (EL2837) in Papua New Guinea, covering a sprawling >40-kilometre trend within the Ono Project. This corridor is notable for hosting both high-grade low-sulphidation epithermal gold and large-scale copper-gold porphyry targets. The licence grant marks a key milestone under LCL’s farm-in agreement with Rio Tinto Exploration (PNG) Limited, triggering a further A$200,000 cash payment from the mining giant to LCL.

Historic Trenching Reveals Robust Gold-Silver Mineralisation

The Kau Creek prospect boasts an extensive legacy of surface trench sampling by Conzinc Riotinto Australia (CRA) from the 1980s, which returned compelling assay results. Intercepts include standout widths and grades such as 230 metres at 2.41 g/t gold with 15 g/t silver starting near surface, and narrower but exceptional intervals like 10 metres at 40.35 g/t gold and 188.3 g/t silver. These results underscore the prospect’s potential for significant epithermal mineralisation, though historical drilling has been limited and did not fully account for the surface richness, possibly due to supergene enrichment effects.

Rio Tinto Partnership Adds Technical and Financial Leverage

Executive Chairman Chris van Wijk highlighted the strategic value of consolidating the entire Ono trend under the Kau Creek licence. He emphasised Rio Tinto’s role in providing not only financial support but also access to an extensive archive of legacy data and samples, which materially accelerates target generation. The partnership positions LCL and Rio Tinto to unlock the district-scale potential of the >40km mineralised corridor, which has seen minimal modern exploration since the late 1980s.

Future Exploration Plans and Community Engagement

LCL and Rio Tinto plan to advance exploration with further geochemical sampling, detailed mapping, and geophysical surveys along the Ono trend and into Kau Creek. Prior to fieldwork, LCL intends to initiate community engagement campaigns to foster local support and ensure responsible development. The company has yet to visit Kau Creek but aims to validate historic trenches and drill collars, and potentially sample historic drill core.

Imou Project Extends Copper-Gold Porphyry Mineralisation

Alongside the Kau Creek update, LCL reported encouraging trench sampling results from its 100%-owned Imou Project in East Sepik Province, PNG. Recent channel sampling extended known copper-gold mineralisation approximately 350 metres east of prior drilling, with intercepts such as 57 metres at 0.25% copper and 0.21 g/t gold. This reinforces Imou’s potential as a porphyry system, complementing LCL’s broader PNG exploration portfolio.