23 April 2024
Contract
Win
Getech Engaged by East Star
Resources to Locate Porphyry Copper in Kazakhstan
Getech, a world-leading locator of subsurface
resources, is pleased to announce it has won a new contract with
East Star Resources, a London-listed company focused on copper
exploration, to locate porphyry copper deposits in Kazakhstan. The
project is backed by the BHP Xplor 2024 accelerator programme and
is the first time Getech's Globe
geoscience platform will be used to locate
porphyry copper.
The contract win builds on the
Company's joint venture agreement with East Star Resources,
announced last month, to explore for sedimentary
copper deposits in Kazakhstan. For this contract aimed at locating
porphyry copper, the Company will receive a fee for exploration
services.
Combining its Globe
geoscience platform market-leading potential fields data with
East Star Resource's technical expertise and access to local data,
Getech will conduct a comprehensive structural interpretation of
the area of interest to produce a series of palaeo-tectonic
reconstructions and cross-sections demonstrating the local geology.
Building on this foundation and integrating Getech's extensive
mineral occurrence database and remote sensing data, the company
will employ sophisticated machine learning techniques to locate
prospective areas for commercial porphyry copper deposits. These
insights will help East Star prioritise exploration targets and
identify new areas for exploration.
East Star is one of the six participants in the
BHP Xplor 2024 accelerator programme, designed to support
early-stage mineral exploration companies in finding the critical
resources needed to support the energy transition. Getech is a
member of the BHP Xplor network of external industry experts having
supported Asian Battery Minerals in locating nickel in Mongolia as
part of the programme in 2023.
Since joining the BHP Xplor programme, East Star
has acquired two exploration licenses for copper porphyry in
Kazakhstan and plans to secure several more within its areas of
interest.
Global demand for copper is rising steadily and
is only expected to accelerate as copper is crucial for green
technologies and electrification. As known copper sources deplete,
the discovery of new deposits is essential to meet growing demand.
These porphyry copper deposits, typically characterised by their
relatively large size and low extraction costs, are pivotal in
supporting the energy transition.
Richard
Bennett, CEO at
Getech, commented:
"It is
particularly pleasing to be selected for repeat projects with both
the BHP Xplor accelerator programme, and East Star. Importantly, I
believe awareness, of our ability to make mineral exploration less
risky and more cost-effective, is growing amongst explorers like
East Star who are looking for assets to support the energy
transition. This is a key part of our strategy and while this is
our first contract to locate porphyry copper, given its value as a
resource, we are hopefully that it will be the first of
many."
Alex Walker,
CEO at East Star, commented:
"I
believe Kazakhstan mirrors Western Australia in the 1970s in terms
of mineral potential. We're advancing on three fronts: a VMS
deposit, a BHP-backed porphyry exploration programme and a JV
exploring for sedimentary-hosted copper, with Getech involved in
the latter two. Given Getech's unparalleled database and innovative
approach, I'm confident they will enhance our exploration
efficiency."
Notes to editors:
About Getech
Getech is a leading locator
of the energy and mineral resources essential for the world's
energy transition. Getech's unique data encompassing the most
recent 400 million years of Earth's evolution, coupled with its
geoscience expertise, AI-driven analytics and extensive GIS
capabilities, enables the company to provide valuable and
actionable insights to support resource discovery and
development.
The company's client portfolio is
wide-ranging, from governments, municipalities, natural resources
and energy companies to consumer goods and computing services
companies, all striving to become energy and minerals
self-sufficient and drive towards net zero.
Founded in 1994 Getech is listed on
the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock
Exchange ("AIM"), with ticker symbol
GTC.
For further information, please
visit www.getech.com.
About East Star
East Star Resources is focused on the discovery
and development of copper resources in Kazakhstan. With eight
licences covering 1,190.3 km² in three mineral rich districts of
Kazakhstan, East Star is undertaking exploration programmes,
applying modern geophysics to discover minerals in levels that were
not previously explored. East Star's most advanced project is a
copper deposit on the world-class Rudny Altai VMS Belt where the
Company is working towards the delivery of a JORC compliant open
pit copper resource close to infrastructure, within trucking
distance of third-party mills with excess capacity. East Star's
management are based permanently on the ground, supported by local
expertise, a joint venture with the state mining company on certain
projects, and grant funding from BHP through the BHP Xplor
programme for copper porphyry exploration.