Encounter Resources Hits 12.7m at 4.9% Copper in First Tyrell Hole Since 2014
Key Takeaways
- Encounter intersected 12.7m @ 4.9% Cu at Tyrell within 44m @ 1.7% Cu, the first hole there since 2014 and more than double the 0.79% Cu Inferred Resource grade.
- A new 3km NNE structural corridor, interpreted from AEM data, bounds the high-grade zones at Tyrell and Maitland and gives drilling a clear target map.
- The Tyrell hole points to a priority copper sulphide target along strike of the oxide deposit, though true width is not yet known.
- Griffin and Maitland were weaker, with no significant sulphide at depth at Griffin and 10.6m @ 0.3% Cu at Maitland.
- Next-phase drilling, sighter leach testing and the ongoing copper strategic review are the next catalysts, but the announcement gives no timelines.
Encounter intersects 12.7m @ 4.9% Cu at Tyrell in first hole since 2014
Encounter Resources (ASX: ENR) has intersected 12.7m @ 4.9% Cu from 25.75m within 44m @ 1.7% Cu from 8.1m (EPT2431), a high-grade copper result at Tyrell. The hole sits within the 100%-owned Yeneena Copper Project, part of the Parbo copper system in the Paterson Province of Western Australia.
It is the first hole drilled at Tyrell since 2014. The company describes it as one of the thickest high-grade copper intersections recorded to date at Tyrell.
The grade is more than double the Tyrell Inferred Mineral Resource of 2.9Mt @ 0.79% Cu (including 1.1Mt @ 1.27% Cu, above a 0.25% Cu cut-off). An Inferred Resource is the lowest confidence category, so new drilling like this helps test how representative the estimate is.
The hole was drilled to provide core for geological context and structural data, not to chase grade. Yet it identified a priority copper sulphide target along strike of the Tyrell high-grade copper oxide deposit.
Will Robinson, Managing Director
“…12.7m @ 4.9% Cu is exceptional.”
Three diamond holes were completed at Parbo in 2026, and assays from all three have now been received:
- EPT2431: Tyrell
- EPT2433: Maitland
- EPT2439: Griffin
What the Tyrell core shows
The copper mineralisation is characterised by malachite–chrysocolla ± azurite ± chalcocite. These are copper-bearing minerals hosted in strongly weathered laminated and brecciated weakly weathered shale.
The high-grade 12.7m interval is part of a +2% Cu zone extending over ~200m on section. Geological interpretation has identified potential for extensions along the NNE-trending Tyrell-Maitland structural corridor.
One caution matters here. Results are downhole lengths, and true width is not yet known due to insufficient drilling in the targeted areas. So the intersection length should not be read as the real thickness of the mineralisation.
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New 3km structural corridor opens a fresh search space
A NNE-trending structural corridor, interpreted over 3km from airborne electromagnetic (AEM) data, bounds the high-grade copper zones at Tyrell and Maitland. It is supported by copper anomalism in shallow aircore drilling.
The company calls it “an important new interpretation of mineralising controls at Parbo”. For investors, that matters because it gives the company a map for where to drill next, rather than relying on isolated hits.
Maitland and the Tyrell–Maitland corridor
Diamond hole EPT2433 returned 10.6m @ 0.3% Cu from 204.15m. It was drilled to test the eastern limb of an interpreted antiformal position.
The hole sits beside a NNE-plunging copper lode that includes 10m @ 1.64% Cu from 164m (EPT1112), within 34m @ 0.64% Cu from 156m. That zone remains open at depth and along the NNE-interpreted plunge.
Nearby EPT1159 returned 26.6m @ 0.6% Cu from 74.4m. Locally at Maitland, the corridor connects the high-grade intersections at EPT1159 and EPT1112, 200m to the NNE.
Griffin and Armstrong
The Griffin prospect hosts a large, shallow copper oxide blanket above high-grade copper sulphide intersections at depth. Armstrong, at the southern end of the 8km Parbo system, hosts a zone of shallow copper oxide mineralisation.
| Prospect | Hole | Result | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Griffin | EPT2438 | 16m @ 0.5% Cu from 32m | RC pre-collar, shallow oxide copper |
| Griffin | EPT2439 | 20m @ 0.4% Cu from 36m, including 2m @ 1.7% Cu | RC pre-collar, shallow oxide copper |
| Armstrong | EPT2442 | 6m @ 0.6% Cu from 130m | Remains open |
The picture at depth at Griffin was less encouraging. The EPT2439 diamond tail (to 548.1m) did not contain significant additional copper sulphide intersections, and chalcopyrite was trace and localised in veins and fractures.
The next phase of drilling at Griffin is planned to be an RC drill program to further define the copper oxide blankets. Armstrong was recently awarded an EIS co-funded drilling grant (up to $180,000) for diamond drilling in 2027.
Why copper oxide and sulphide targets matter
Oxide copper is weathered, near-surface mineralisation. Sulphide copper sits deeper in unweathered rock. Shallow oxide is generally easier and cheaper to drill, while sulphide zones at depth are often where higher grades are found.
Tyrell is a near-surface, high-grade oxide resource, and the new hole points to a priority target for copper sulphide mineralisation along strike. At Griffin, a large shallow oxide blanket sits above high-grade sulphide intersections at depth, including historical EPT1719 at 5.3m @ 2.5% Cu from 387.6m.
Earlier modelling had already outlined copper oxide blankets in the southern Parbo system stretching more than 1km along strike and up to 800m wide, separate from the classified Tyrell resource and a potential source of upside.
The Nifty copper mine (~65km north) provides an analogous deposit and geological model for exploration targeting at Parbo. The company also plans sighter metallurgical test work, which is leach testing of oxide samples from the Parbo copper oxide blankets.
None of this establishes economic viability. These are exploration results, and the announcement does not provide studies on costs or recoveries.
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Next drilling phase and strategic review
The announcement lists three next steps:
- Next-phase drilling at Parbo, with planning underway to test for extensions to the high-grade copper at Tyrell and Maitland, along strike and at depth, as well as the Griffin and Armstrong prospects.
- Sighter metallurgical test work, being leach testing of oxide samples.
- Parbo results feeding into the ongoing strategic review of Encounter’s copper portfolio.
The strategic review is assessing opportunities to unlock value and accelerate advancement of the copper portfolio. The announcement does not disclose an outcome or timing, and it gives no timelines for the drilling.
Encounter’s primary focus remains the Aileron niobium project, with an Inferred Resource of 120Mt @ 0.77% Nb₂O₅, including 26Mt @ 1.7% Nb₂O₅. Copper is the company’s other growth avenue, and Tyrell gives it a stronger hand in that part of the portfolio.
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