Announcement • Jul 13
New Frontier Minerals Limited Reports High-Grade Copper Assays Up to 6.88% At Mt Storm
New Frontier Minerals Limited had assay results from the May 2026 field programme at the Mt Storm Copper Prospect, part of the Company's NWQ Copper Project in the Mount Isa Inlier of north-west Queensland. Detailed laboratory analyses of eight rock chip and grab samples confirmed high-grade copper mineralisation at surface, with pit and dump samples returning up to 6.88% Cu. Sequential leach testing confirmed high recoveries of the sulphuric acid-soluble copper component. Fieldwork undertaken at the Mt Storm Copper Prospect, NWQ Copper Project during May 2026 focussed on geological mapping and sampling of country rock, mineralised outcrop, ex-mine dumps and in-pit grab samples. Analyses returned from ALS Perth confirmed encouraging results, with copper values for pit and dump samples ranging from 0.49% to 6.88% Cu. Further copper testing via sequential leach analysis confirmed high recoveries for the sulphuric acid-soluble copper component, supporting potential amenability to conventional acid-leach processing. Historical small-scale mining at Mt Storm extracted approximately 1,100 t of ore at a head grade of circa 6% Cu, with historical pit sampling returning up to 10.4% Cu. The Mt Storm Copper Prospect lies within EPM 27440, ~75km north of Austral's Mt Kelly processing facility. Historical small-scale mining, most recently by Coffee Gold NL in the early 1990s within the now-lapsed ML 90105, extracted approximately 1,100 t of ore in total - 700 t at a head grade of 7% Cu and a later batch of 400 t at 4.5% Cu. Historical pit sampling returned up to 10.4% Cu across a 0.6 m interval on the western cherty malachite vein, with earlier sampling by ALS Cloncurry recording copper as high as 5.4% and 271 ppm cobalt in similar locations. Later rock chip sampling by Mt Isa Metals under EPM 16498 found copper to 521 ppm, cobalt to 519 ppm and gold to 750 ppb away from the workings. The Mt Storm workings lie on the southern edge of a steeply dipping porphyritic syenite dyke, exposed over more than 750 m of strike, within siliceous, haematitic silty sandstones of the Proterozoic Quilalar Formation. The historical pits are aligned along a malachite vein system striking between 30° and 70° with steep dips to the southwest. Copper-cobalt-gold mineralisation is interpreted to be structurally controlled along the dyke contact; there is currently no drilling to test down-dip extensions. Fieldwork undertaken during May 2026 was based around geological mapping and sampling of country rock, mineralised outcrop, ex-mine dumps and in-pit grab samples. A total of eight rock chip and grab samples were submitted to ALS Perth for detailed laboratory analysis, comprising four-acid digest multi-element characterisation (ALS method ME-MS61R) and sequential copper leach analysis (ALS method PH06). Analyses returned from ALS Perth confirmed the encouraging results of historical sampling and laboratory testing at Mt Storm. Copper values for pit and dump samples ranged from 0.49% to 6.88% Cu, with the samples returning high copper values also associated with minor anomalous silver, cobalt, nickel and zinc. Sequential leach analysis (ALS method PH06) confirmed high recoveries for the sulphuric acid-soluble copper component. The highest-grade sample, MTS_GS003 6.88% Cu (T), reported 6.83% Cu (S) in the sulphuric acid-soluble fraction, indicating that the contained copper is dominantly hosted in oxide and secondary copper minerals potentially amenable to conventional acid-leach processing. Country rock, consisting of quartzite, siltstones, dolomitic shales and a porphyry intrusive (possibly syenite), recorded background copper analyses ranging from 8-70 ppm, providing a clear geochemical contrast between mineralised material and the surrounding host lithologies. Based on the ME-MS61R multi-element methodology, no anomalous rare earth elements were indicated. An Exploration Target (to the standard of Clause 17 of the 2012 JORC Code) was previously estimated for Mt Storm from the available historical mining and surface sampling data. It should be noted that the Exploration Target tonnage ranges quoted above are conceptual in nature and there has been insufficient exploration to define a copper resource. Although a preliminary analysis was undertaken, insufficient data exists to confidently correlate mineralised horizons within the Exploration Target area. It is uncertain whether further exploration may lead to the reporting of a JORC-standard resource however there is some evidence to support the current exploration tonnage calculations, and the sufficient mineralised thicknesses interpreted from historical drilling to warrant further investigation in some areas. NFM's geological team will return to Mt Storm to undertake comprehensive, detailed geological mapping of the prospect. The programme will focus on tracing the porphyritic syenite dyke and its contact zones along strike, and mapping the orientation and continuity of the mineralised structures exposed in and around the historical workings. These follow-up site visits, together with further rock chip sampling where warranted, will refine the geological model of the structurally controlled mineral system and will assist in the development of any future drill programme at Mt Storm. The results of the mapping programme will inform the design, scale and timing of any such programme. NFM's forthcoming Mt Storm programme to include: Detailed geological mapping of the Mt Storm Prospect to refine the geological model and assist in the development of any future drill programme; Landowner engagement, cultural heritage and site access planning to be progressed in parallel with the mapping programme; Results of the mapping programme, and any subsequent exploration plans, to be reported as they become available.
