Locksley Resources Maps Path to Grow NSW Copper Resource Across 1,000 km² District
Key Takeaways
- Locksley has pivoted to a single Australian copper focus, the Greater Tottenham District across roughly 1,000 km² in central New South Wales, following a portfolio review.
- The Tottenham JORC 2012 resource stands at 9.86 Mt @ 0.73% Cu, 0.22 g/t Au and 2 g/t Ag, backed by an optioned Iron Duke historical resource of 1.3 Mt @ 1.0% Cu.
- An independent Mineral Resource Estimate covering Tottenham and Iron Duke is near-complete, though no completion date or results were disclosed.
- More than 50 km of prospective trends remain to be assessed, with Carolina, Mount Royal-Orange Plains and Iron Duke all open for extension drilling.
- Drilling sequencing is due in the coming weeks, but no drill dates, metres, budgets or Iron Duke option terms have been disclosed.
Locksley outlines Greater Tottenham copper strategy across 1,000 km²
In its 15 October 2026 announcement, Locksley Resources (ASX: LKY) outlined a focused Australian copper strategy centred on the Greater Tottenham Copper District in central New South Wales. The strategy follows the acquisition of an option over Iron Duke.
Management also detailed a completed portfolio review, which prioritised capital toward opportunities with demonstrated scale, resource definition and near-term value accretion potential. The announcement did not disclose the terms of the Iron Duke option.
Key figures from the presentation include:
- Tottenham JORC 2012 Mineral Resource: 9.86 Mt @ 0.73% Cu, 0.22 g/t Au and 2 g/t Ag
- Iron Duke historical JORC 2004 inferred Mineral Resource: 1.3 Mt @ 1.0% Cu and 0.6 g/t Au
- District size: approximately 1,000 km², with more than 50 km of prospective trends identified, still to be assessed through further exploration and target evaluation
An established resource base sits alongside a large district where historical drilling is concentrated around the resource areas, which the company describes as a small part of the broader system. That combination is what the strategy is built to exploit.
Two-pillar strategy
Locksley framed its approach around two pillars. Pillar 1, Resource Growth, targets extensions to known copper-gold systems and high-conviction brownfields and greenfield opportunities.
Pillar 2, Increasing Economic Viability, focuses on improving the quality, confidence and potential economic viability of each resource tonne.
Pillar 1 workstreams:
- Testing extensions to the Carolina high-grade mineralisation
- Testing Mount Royal and Orange Plains extensions, and reviewing opportunities from the updated Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE)
- Re-evaluating Bogan River based on MRE outcomes
- Re-modelling, ranking and prioritising the highest conviction brownfields geophysical and geochemical targets for drilling
- Advancing drilling at Iron Duke and exploration programmes at Christmas Gift
Pillar 2 workstreams:
- Metallurgical testwork across oxide, supergene and fresh sulphide domains
- Pit optimisation and mineability studies
- Transport and regional processing assessments
- Permitting and environmental baseline work
- Assessment of toll treatment, campaign processing and other infrastructure options
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Brownfield growth centres and the resource baseline
The pipeline rests on known mineralisation rather than blue-sky exploration. Locksley said the strategy is built around known mineralised centres, near-resource extensions and unresolved geophysical targets.
| Prospect | Role | Key point | Next step |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carolina | Highest-grade cornerstone of the Tottenham resource | Open down-plunge and northward | Integrating historical airborne, ground and downhole EM, geochemistry and geology to identify targets north and north-east |
| Mount Royal–Orange Plains | Contributes the majority of metal to the **9.86 Mt** Tottenham Mineral Resource | Multiple high-grade sulphide lenses remain open along strike and down dip | Orange Plains corridor and Effies Ace extensions are part of the current target ranking process |
| Bogan River | Previously defined high-grade, near surface copper prospect | Shallow, high-grade copper position | Targeted drilling around historical workings and revised structural geometry to confirm continuity |
| Iron Duke | Copper-gold project with a defined historical resource | **15 km** by road from Mount Royal and **50 km** from the Mineral Hill processing plant; resource spans about **550 m**, with no modern drilling around historical workings in the south or across **6 km** of prospective strike | Drilling programmes being scoped alongside the updated MRE |
Effies Ace was described as a priority regional target with strong magnetic and EM responses along the same corridor. Underlay, Ace and Railway Forest are undergoing reprocessing and integration of all available geoscientific data to develop the next phase of drill targets.
An independent Mineral Resource Estimate is near-complete. It is intended to establish a unified, current reporting baseline across Tottenham and Iron Duke, and additional brownfields targets are expected to be generated as peripheral datasets are re-evaluated. The announcement did not disclose a completion date or results.
What are brownfield exploration and value per tonne?
Brownfield exploration means searching near known deposits or historical workings. Greenfield exploration means searching in areas with no known mineralisation.
Brownfield work is typically lower-risk because existing drilling and data already show mineralisation is present. Locksley’s approach leans on more than 20 years of geophysical, geochemical and geological data.
Value per tonne is a different question. A tonne of copper-bearing rock only matters economically if it can be processed, mined practically and permitted.
That is why Pillar 2 covers metallurgy, mineability, permitting and processing options such as toll treatment. Iron Duke’s position 50 km from the Mineral Hill processing plant is the kind of logistics detail those assessments will weigh.
For you as an investor, the point is that no economics or development decisions have been announced. The presentation describes studies to be advanced, not completed ones.
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Near-term catalysts and next steps
Locksley intends to advance four workstreams across Greater Tottenham:
- Advance MREs and target definition: progress resource updates and broader target work across Tottenham and Iron Duke
- Prepare a staged drilling programme: prioritise targets and progress approvals, access and contractor arrangements
- Test priority opportunities: commence drilling at selected growth areas, subject to the required approvals and access
- Advance technical studies: progress metallurgical work on existing drill core and early-stage assessment of potential development options
The company expects to update investors on drilling sequencing “in the coming weeks”. No drill dates, metres or budgets were disclosed.
Ian Stockton, Technical Director
“…The independent Mineral Resource Estimate will provide a contemporary technical baseline to guide targeted drilling and supporting studies toward potential development options…”
The investment angle is straightforward. Locksley points to an established resource, multiple brownfield growth centres and a pipeline of MRE, drilling and studies, with updates promised as milestones are achieved.
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