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n 2008 Rox Resources purchased, from Rio Tinto
subsidiary North Mining Limited, the Myrtle zinc
project located next to the McArthur River zinc
mine in the Northern Territory. Drilling during
2008 and 2009 resulted in Rox announcing an
Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resource estimate of 43.6 million
tonnes (Mt) grading 4.09% Zn and 0.95% Pb.
Myrtle’s potential was immediately recognised by Canadian
giant Teck Resources which signed a joint venture agreement with
Rox, where it can earn a 51% interest by spending $5 million over
three years, which includes a minimum spend of $1 million by
mid 2012. Ultimately Teck has the option to increase its interest
to 70% by spending a further $10 million over an additional
four-year period.
Rox Resources’ Managing Director Ian Mulholland believes the
Myrtle zinc project has the potential to become a world-class zinc
deposit and is very encouraged by Teck’s interest in the project.
“Our resource at Myrtle represents 2.2 million tonnes of zinc
and lead metal. Myrtle is a very large mineralised system, which
hasn’t been systematically tested by drilling yet. Further drilling
is expected to prove up a resource several times larger and at a
significantly higher grade than the current resource.”
Located just 20 kilometres south of the McArthur River zinc
mine, the Myrtle zinc project is well provided for mining, transport,
power and water infrastructure. Services such as roads and a
gas pipeline (for power) are owned and operated by government
agencies, while McArthur River Mines own a ship loading facility
and airstrip nearby.
Having secured the acquisition of the Myrtle zinc project and
attracting Teck into a joint venture, Rox successfully acquired
the highly prospective Mt Fisher gold-nickel project from Avoca
Resources. Mt Fisher is located on the Yandal greenstone belt in
the Western Australian Goldfields.
“Not only have we got a large tenement area covering a large
portion of a highly prospective but underexplored greenstone belt,
but there are several outstanding gold targets ready for drilling on
the property”, said Mr Mulholland.
Rox secured an option over adjoining tenements, which include
the Mt Fisher gold mine, and which historically produced 4,500
ounces of gold at 28 g/t Au and a further 22,600 ounces of gold
at 3.2 g/t Au, recovered from open pit mining in the mid 1980s.
“We have over a dozen walk-up drill targets and three
parallel structures at the Dam-Dirks prospect with strong gold
(>5 g/t Au) anomalies.”
Rox’s third project is the Marqua phosphate project in the
Georgina Basin in the Northern Territory. “We’re excited about
Marqua because there is potential to define a large resource here,
and phosphate is becoming an increasingly important mineral
export”, said Mr Mulholland.
“Rox is on the road to exploration success, with three high
quality projects, and we look forward to realising the value of our
exploration efforts over the coming months and years.”
TRIPLE TREAT
IAN MULHOLLAND
MANAGING DIRECTOR
ROX RESOURCES LTD
VIEW ACROSS THE OPEN PIT SHOWING RECENT
DRILLING AT THE MT FISHER GOLD-NICKEL PROJECT
I
Rox’s three exploration projects
MINESITE 2011
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