Encounter Resources (ASX: ENR) Hits 12.7 Metres at 4.9% Copper at Tyrell

Encounter Resources has reported one of the thickest high-grade copper intersections drilled at Tyrell, with the first hole at the prospect since 2014 returning 12.7 metres at 4.9% copper from 25.75 metres.

The high-grade interval sits within a broader result of 44 metres at 1.7% copper from 8.1 metres. Its shallow depth and grade make it the standout result from three diamond holes completed across the 100%-owned Parbo copper system within Encounter’s Yeneena project in Western Australia’s Paterson Province.

Tyrell already hosts an Inferred Mineral Resource of 2.9 million tonnes at 0.79% copper, including a higher-grade component of 1.1 million tonnes at 1.27% copper. The latest result is an exploration intersection and has not been incorporated into that resource.

New corridor guides the next campaign

Encounter said the 12.7-metre interval forms part of a zone grading more than 2% copper that extends for about 200 metres on the drilled section. Geological interpretation has also identified potential extensions along a north-northeast-trending structural corridor linking Tyrell and Maitland.

The corridor has been interpreted over three kilometres using airborne electromagnetic data, historical drilling and the latest results. It bounds the high-grade copper zones at both prospects and provides Encounter with a new framework for targeting sulphide mineralisation along strike and at depth.

At Maitland, hole EPT2433 intersected 10.6 metres at 0.3% copper from 204.15 metres. While lower grade than the Tyrell result, the hole sits beside a mineralised zone that includes a historical intersection of 10 metres at 1.64% copper from 164 metres. Encounter said this zone remains open at depth and along its interpreted plunge.

The reported intervals are downhole lengths. True widths are not yet known because drilling remains insufficient to establish the geometry of mineralisation in the targeted areas.

Griffin result tempers the program

The diamond tail drilled at Griffin did not return significant additional copper sulphide intersections. Encounter will instead use reverse-circulation drilling to further define the prospect’s shallow oxide copper blankets and identify higher-grade zones that could support later deeper drilling.

Planning is underway for the next Parbo campaign, covering extensions at Tyrell and Maitland as well as the Griffin and Armstrong prospects. Armstrong has received an Exploration Incentive Scheme co-funded grant of up to $180,000 for diamond drilling in 2027.

Encounter also plans preliminary leach testing on oxide samples from Parbo. The new drilling results will feed into an ongoing strategic review of its copper portfolio, which is assessing options to accelerate development and unlock value. No specific transaction or timetable was disclosed.