True North Copper (ASX: TNC) flags high-priority drill targets at Wallace North after EM survey

Why Is True North Copper Drilling Again at Wallace North in Q3 2025?

True North Copper Limited (ASX: TNC) has reignited momentum at its Cloncurry Copper Project after completing a 22-line-kilometre Fixed Loop Electromagnetic (FLEM) survey at Wallace North. The ASX-listed copper explorer confirmed on June 3 that this high-confidence geophysical campaign identified multiple new copper-gold conductors, many of which remain completely untested. These drill-ready targets will now be the focus of a reverse circulation (RC) drilling campaign set to commence in Q3 2025.

Wallace North is already host to an Indicated and Inferred Resource of 1.79 million tonnes at 1.31% Cu and 0.78 g/t Au. The discovery of deeper, structurally coherent conductors suggests potential for significant mineral system expansion—perhaps unlocking a second development phase beyond the current open-pit model.

How Is the Market Responding to TNC’s Exploration Upside?

The stock price of True North Copper has risen by an impressive 417.24% over the past 12 months, closing at AUD 0.30 on June 3, 2025. That places the company among the top-returning basic materials stocks on the Australian Securities Exchange. With a market cap of AUD 37.75 million and trading volume of 155,383 shares at last count, institutional flows are gradually increasing as new technical milestones emerge.

TNC’s PE ratio remains at 0, reflecting its pre-production status, but the bullish price action indicates speculative accumulation by retail and small-cap mining-focused funds. Analysts monitoring ASX microcaps have suggested that strong electromagnetic responses paired with existing high-grade intersections signal more than just a short-term exploration play—it hints at potential district-scale system development.

What Does the FLEM Survey Tell Us About Wallace North’s Mineral System?

Conducted in April 2025 by Australian Geophysical Services and processed by Mitre Geophysics, the 22km FLEM survey revealed three major conductive trends at Wallace North. These trends, which show continuity over more than 8 kilometres of strike, lie within a broader dextral shear corridor believed to control copper-gold mineralisation. Importantly, these features are geologically analogous to the well-known Eloise and Jericho deposits in Queensland’s Mt Isa Inlier.

The survey highlighted strong conductive plates at depths exceeding 500 metres—zones which often correspond to iron sulphide copper gold (ISCG) systems, notably in this geological province. Wallace North’s existing open-pit resource sits within just 500 metres of one such conductive trend, reinforcing the view that the known deposit may represent only the shallowest expression of a much larger mineral system.

What Are the Drill Targets and How Significant Are They?

True North Copper has proposed five initial drill holes—PropDH1, PropDH9, PropDH11, PropDH12, and PropDH13—to test multiple interpreted conductors within the Central, Northern, and Southern Trends of Wallace North.

PropDH1 targets intersecting conductors coinciding with 2023 IP chargeability anomalies and high-grade intersections, including historical hits such as 6m @ 2.77% Cu and 4.26 g/t Au from 242m. Similarly, PropDH13 is set to test north-dipping plates 500 metres south of the current pit, with prior shallow drilling already returning grades like 3m @ 0.84% Cu and 2.35 g/t Au.

Other targets such as PropDH12 and PropDH11 aim to intersect deeper mineralised structures where stacked conductivity plates coincide with known shear zones and interpreted dilation zones—ideal conditions for sulphide mineralisation.

These drill targets are not random step-outs. They are supported by a combination of historical drill data, geochemical anomalies, magnetic features, and IP survey highs. Several lie within 1–2 km of the planned pit shell and, if mineralised, could justify a major expansion of both the Wallace North resource and the broader Cloncurry Copper Project (CCP).

What Does Wallace North Mean for the Future of the Cloncurry Copper Project?

The Cloncurry Copper Project includes four advanced development zones—Wallace North, Taipan, Orphan Shear, and the Great Australia Mine (GAM). Combined, these assets host over 12.69 million tonnes of copper-gold-cobalt resources, supported by True North Copper’s 100%-owned infrastructure hub in Cloncurry. This includes a solvent extraction plant, heap leach pads, crushers, and tailings facilities—currently in care and maintenance but crucial for future fast-tracking to production.

True North Copper’s strategy is to sequence shallow open-pit development (low strip ratio, fast cash flow) with deeper exploration to support a transition toward underground mining. The emerging geological parallels between Wallace North and tier-one ISCG deposits support this phased approach.

Furthermore, the company’s nearby Mt Oxide Project adds another 15.03 Mt at 1.46% Cu (including the Vero deposit), offering potential for a multi-asset development strategy in a copper-rich province.

How Is the Company Positioned Financially and Operationally?

While True North Copper remains a pre-revenue exploration company, the stock’s recent performance, exploration milestones, and relatively low share count (125.84 million ordinary shares) give it a strong platform for future equity-based capital raises. As of June 3, the stock ranks 407 of 1,048 in the Basic Materials sector and 1,302 of 2,322 companies across the ASX, indicating its mid-tier standing among Australian microcaps.

The company’s voluntary administration period in late 2024 temporarily halted operations but did not result in asset divestment. In fact, that pause enabled critical groundwork—such as the FLEM survey and drill targeting—to proceed with greater geological precision.

According to Managing Director Bevan Jones, the company is now on a “clearer pathway to expanding the existing resource and mine life” of CCP. Cultural heritage approvals and environmental permits for RC drilling are currently being finalised, with Q3 2025 earmarked for commencement of site work.

What Are Analysts and Investors Watching Next?

Market participants will be closely watching for RC drilling results in Q3–Q4 2025. The focus will be on whether the newly defined conductors host copper-gold mineralisation of similar or higher tenor than the current Wallace North resource.

If successful, this could lead to a re-rating of True North Copper based on upgraded JORC resource estimates, a longer mine plan for CCP, and potential reactivation of the processing facilities in Cloncurry.

Additionally, any early confirmation of deeper sulphide zones could place TNC in the same geological league as major deposits in the Mt Isa region—a key copper-gold producing belt amid growing global demand for critical minerals.