Great Western Exploration (ASX: GTE) has entered into a farm-in agreement with private company Moffat Resources to earn into the McKinlay copper-gold and silver project near Cloncurry, Queensland, and intends to undertake an aggressive exploration program that will include air core and reverse circulation (RC) drilling.

Under the terms of the agreement, Great Western can earn an initial 51% interest in McKinlay by spending $500,000 on exploration. The company can secure a further 29% interest by spending another $2 million on exploration expenditure. Great Western can then achieve 100% ownership of the project by paying the vendors up to $2 million in cash and/or shares. Farm-in structures of this kind allow junior explorers to build project equity progressively through staged exploration spending rather than committing to an upfront acquisition price.

The company said it intends to reverse the recent lack of activity at the project, where little to no exploration has been completed in the past 25 years. The planned air core and RC drilling is accordingly set to provide the first systematic test of the ground in more than two decades, with the initial $500,000 spend representing the first milestone of the staged earn-in.

Chairman Kevin Somes said the company believes that utilising modern exploration techniques presents the opportunity for world class discovery. In particular, Great Western believes there is significant opportunity to make Ernest Henry-style iron oxide copper-gold (IOCG) discoveries and Cannington/Broken Hill Type (CBHT) silver-lead discoveries.

The company said this potential was recently underscored by AIC Mines reporting significant copper and gold results from the Brumby prospect, located just 26 kilometres south-west of the McKinlay project.

McKinlay is located in the prolific Mt Isa Eastern Succession, a region that hosts giant, long-life mines such as the Ernest Henry, Eloise, and Osborne copper-gold mines, as well as the Cannington silver-lead mine, which is one of the largest silver-lead deposits in the world. Ernest Henry is wholly owned by Evolution Mining following its 2022 acquisition of Glencore's majority stake, Eloise is owned by AIC Mines, and Cannington is operated by South32. Copper is widely used in electrical infrastructure, including in renewable energy and electric vehicle applications, while silver has broad industrial uses.

Mr Somes said these giant deposits are located close to the McKinlay project and share the same geological units.

Prior to markets opening, GTE was steady at 0.9¢ with a market capitalisation of $6.988 million.