Locksley gears up for major NSW copper-gold drilling push

Read the original at The Sydney Morning Herald ↗
Cite

Ward, M. (2026, October 21). Locksley gears up for major NSW copper-gold drilling push. The Sydney Morning Herald. https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/locksley-gears-up-for-major-nsw-copper-gold-drilling-push-20261021-p617jn.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed

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The Sydney Morning Herald · collected 2026-10-21 · by Murray Ward

Quick Summary

Locksley Resources is intensifying its copper-gold drilling efforts in New South Wales, specifically at the Greater Tottenham district, with plans for a 15,500-metre campaign. The company has established an operations base to process core samples and enhance drill targeting by reviewing historical data from over 70 holes drilled previously. At Iron Duke, a newly acquired project, Locksley is preparing for a 5500-metre drilling program aimed at extending known mineralisation. These initiatives follow the company’s strategic shift towards its Australian assets earlier this year.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-21, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

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Written for “Locksley Drilling Push” on 2026-10-21, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Locksley Drilling Push
Other · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

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Claims extracted
25
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 25 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
61/100
The Sydney Morning Herald's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Other
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-21 · how these are computed

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Publisher

The Sydney Morning Herald · 4358 article(s) · 11 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 11 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Murray Ward
47 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 The drilling will test a 100m-150m gap in the known mineralisation and probe for extensions.
🔮 The remaining 20,000 tonnes will be earmarked as feedstock for Sarytogan’s own planned downstream business, designed to produce high-value ultra-high purity fines and coated spherical purified graphite for the burgeoning advanced battery market.
🔮 The company has lodged submissions for two contiguous exploration licences that will form its new Jove tin project, where historical work has uncovered a geological mystery that has stumped miners for decades.
2026-10-21 · assertive framing · Platina stakes claim on massive NT tin system
🔮 While the Birimian belts host more than 500 million ounces of discovered gold, the Guiana Shield lays claim to a still-impressive 100-million-ounce inventory, suggesting there may be plenty of room for new discoveries.
2026-10-20 · assertive framing · Critical Resources triples down on Suriname gold play
🔮 Management says the simplified structure will also better support any potential funding, offtake or partnering discussions down the track.
🔮 With a hit rate that would make a West Perth miner blush and a mineralised footprint that now stretches over 23km, Barkly is systematically building a case for a project of serious scale.
🔮 Emerging gold producer Forrestania Resources has hit a series of critical milestones at its Edna May operation in Western Australia, putting the company on a fast track to restart gold production in mid-December.
🔮 Lindian says this will allow time for motor testing and electrical commissioning ahead of introducing the first ore to the plant.
🔮 In the past, Mt Kare has thrown up some monster drill hits including 111m at 9.8 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from just 4m and 17.7m at 100g/t gold from 59m, along with a coffee-spitting 20m at 443g/t gold - the sorts of numbers that would get the West Perth mining fraternity leaping out of bed each morning. ‘Augustus holds an opportunity to potentially secure future access to the world-class Mt Kare gold project.
🔮 The grounds sit within the revered Southern Cross–Forrestania gold belt and benefit from granted mining leases and proximity to regional processing infrastructure at Marvel Loch and Edna May, placing it in prime real estate.
2026-10-15 · assertive framing · Zenith hits 14 from 14 in WA gold drilling campaign
Also by Murray Ward
Platina stakes claim on massive NT tin system
2026-10-21 · The Sydney Morning Herald
Critical Resources triples down on Suriname gold play
2026-10-20 · The Sydney Morning Herald
Kaiser gold loan exit frees $600K a month for mine growth
2026-10-19 · The Sydney Morning Herald
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 47 articles by Murray Ward →

Topics

Carolina Greater Tottenham Locksley Locksley Resources Tottenham

Subjects

Locksley ORG · 6× Australian NORP · 2× Carolina GPE · 2× Cobar GPE · 2× Greater Tottenham ORG · 2× Iron Duke ORG · 2× Locksley Resources ORG · 2× Tottenham GPE · 2× Bevan Tarrett PERSON · 1× New South Wales GPE · 1×

Narrative

Locksley Resources has moved swiftly from strategy to execution at its enormous 1000-square-kilometre Greater Tottenham copper-gold district in the Cobar region of New South Wales, kicking off an integrated technical program designed to fast-track a 15,500-metre drilling campaign, following a strategic pivot away from its US assets.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-21
🔮 The drilling will test a 100m-150m gap in the known mineralisation and probe for extensions.
2026-10-21 · The Sydney Morning Herald
Locksley gears up for major NSW copper-gold drilling push · assertive framing

Claims (25 extracted, 0 hedged)

Locksley Resources has moved swiftly from strategy to execution at its enormous 1000-square-kilometre Greater Tottenham copper-gold district in the Cobar region of New South Wales, kicking off an integrated technical program designed to fast-track a 15,500-metre drilling campaign, following a strategic pivot away from its US assets. asserted
Resources → move → assets
Locksley has now established a local operations base at Tottenham to serve as a hub for core processing, sampling and logistics. asserted
Locksley → establish → processing
A key part of the new program involves a deep dive into the project’s history, with the geos systematically reviewing historical diamond core from more than 70 historical holes drilled over several decades to sharpen drill targeting. asserted
geos → involve → targeting
Metallurgical sampling has also begun, using fresh sulphide material collected from historical drill core at its Carolina prospect. asserted
sampling → begin → prospect
At the same time, the company is finalising a drill rig contract and progressing access arrangements with local landholders so the drill rods can start turning. asserted
rods → finalise → landholders
Greater Tottenham already packs an impressive punch, led by an existing resource at the Tottenham prospect of 9.86 million tonnes (Mt) grading 0.73 per cent copper, 0.22g/t gold and 2g/t silver. asserted
Tottenham → pack → copper
Locksley expanded its portfolio just days ago by securing an option on the nearby Iron Duke project, adding a historical resource to its inventory of 1.3 Mt at one per cent copper and 0.6g/t gold. asserted
Locksley → expand → copper
‘Locksley has moved quickly from strategy to execution at Greater Tottenham. asserted
Locksley → move → Tottenham
The company’s impressive work rate is all pushing towards the main event: getting the drill bit into the ground. asserted
rate → push → ground
At Iron Duke, the company says permitting with the NSW Mines Department is well advanced for an initial 5500-metre program designed from 28 drill pads. asserted
permitting → say → pads
The drilling will test a 100m-150m gap in the known mineralisation and probe for extensions. asserted
drilling → test → extensions
Locksley Resources chairman Bevan Tarratt said: “Locksley has moved quickly at Greater Tottenham. asserted
Locksley → say → Tottenham
The core facility is working, historical core is being re- asserted
core → work → ?
logged, metallurgical samples are being collected and drill planning is advancing across our priority areas. asserted
planning → log → areas
Notably, Iron Duke features a history of high-grade results. asserted
Duke → feature → results
Previous rock chip sampling returned values up to a spectacular 26.1 per cent copper and drilling delivered intercepts including 13m at 1.56 per cent copper and 4.48 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from just 37m. asserted
drilling → return → m.
At the same time, the company is designing a bigger 10,000-metre drill program for its Carolina and Mount Royal-Orange Plains prospects to test sparsely drilled areas and chase extensions to known high-grade mineralisation. asserted
company → design → mineralisation
Additionally, the company is finalising an independent mineral resource estimate for Tottenham and Iron Duke, which it says will provide a geological baseline for future resource growth drilling. asserted
it → finalise → drilling
The move comes just two months after the company made the savvy call to halt exploration at its US critical minerals portfolio and redirect its firepower towards its Australian assets. asserted
company → come → assets
In August, Locksley ceased all fieldwork at its Mojave project in California following a strategic review, a decision influenced by a more than 57 per cent collapse in antimony prices from their 2025 peak and a lack of project scale. asserted
Locksley → cease → scale
With its focus now squarely on home soil, the company appears to be going all-in on a sprawling 1000-square-kilometre project brimming with untapped potential. asserted
company → appear → potential
The ground sits within the Girilambone Basin of the resource-rich Lachlan Fold Belt, a region that hosts some of NSW’s most significant copper and gold operations, including the Cobar mining district and the Tritton and Mineral Hill mines. asserted
that → sit → district
After trading the uncertainty of early-stage US exploration for a district-scale Australian copper play, Locksley now appears to have a clear path forward. asserted
Locksley → trade → path
With an operations base up and running, historical data being mined for new insights and a major drilling campaign on the horizon, the company’s focus looks to have well and truly shifted from boardroom strategy to the core shed. asserted
focus → run → shed
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? asserted
company → list → something
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