Locksley Resources (ASX:LKY) recent announcement has sparked a conversation with the Company’s Corporate Communications Manager, Neil Gill, and our Senior Mining Analyst, Alex Sutton.

The podcast discusses the mining exploration highlights, copper’s role in net-zero emissions and Tottenham project’s future scope.

Locksley Resources Limited (ASX:LKY)

For more details, read the full ASX announcement here. 

Read the conversation:

Alex Sutton:

"My name is Alex Sutton and I'm the senior mining analyst at Barclay Pearce Capital. I'm joined here today with Neil Gill, who's the corporate communications manager of Locksley Resources. How are you today Neil?"

Neil Gill:

"Good morning, Alex. So I'm well, thanks for having me."

Alex Sutton:

"So, Locksley Resources have completed their maiden drill program since listing on the ASX. Can you tell us any highlights of the program?"

Neil Gill:

"A bit of background for you first, Alex, so over August, September and October, Locksley completed about fifteen hundred meters of diamond drilling in about three and a half thousands of meters of reverse circulation drilling at the Chris Watson orange Plains and Carolina deposits. Now the early results are promising. In fact, we're getting quite excited at Locksley, the assay results have been received for the fall diamond drill holes and the 23 RC drill holes with mineralization reported in every single one. Now reported grades top out at 10.3% for copper and 6.9 grams per ton of gold. So as I say, we are quite excited."

Alex Sutton

"That sounds really encouraging. What specific information is out there for investors that you can tell us at this stage?"

Neil Gill

"Well, I guess the thing that we're excited about is that many of these holes contained unsampled intervals of mineralized core holes. From the deepest section, the Chris Watson deposit, and now being relogged and all unsampled mineralization is being sent away for assay. Now, all holes contained significant copper mineralization and demonstrates that the system is open at depth and in multiple directions. So just to reiterate Alex, all the previous drilling that has been conducted by other companies is being reprocessed, re-logged, and re-sampled. It's obviously a work in progress, Alex, so results will continue to come in over the coming months."

Alex Sutton

"That sounds really great. Some encouraging results were released on the ASX. How's the general feeling around the company after completing its first major milestone?"

Neil Gill:

"Alex, we're excited. We're feeling very positive about these drilling results. The copper numbers confirm the consistency and the robust nature of the deposits that we believe are there. The project continues to deliver additional copper value as the company moves forward to JORC 2012 compliant resource calculation and I look forward to updating yourself and the market as additional pending results come in."

Alex Sutton

"Oh, that's really great. So why did the company choose to explore for Copper? What are its common uses? "

Neil Gill:

"Well, I guess it's fair to say, and I guess it's also becoming quite common knowledge that copper is used widely in the green economy, the new green economy. It is very popular and everybody is buying into the notion of the Paris climate agreement and net-zero emissions. Copper, I'm not sure if you're aware Alex, but let me tell you some fascinating facts about copper its clean energy is reliant on copper. However, there are some challenges associated with this new surge in demand. Copper can be repeatedly recycled with no loss of performance. Copper is the second most conductive material behind silver and copper supply is where the issue is for us. It needs to increase at 6% a year to meet the goals of the Paris climate agreement and it's just not happening. Solar technology, a solar panel on your roof, Alex copper is critical for their efficiency and performance of solar panels. Solar energy requires five kilograms of copper per kilowatt. Copper, Alex is contained in interconnectors in wiring and transformers in inverters, wind turbines. Did you know that a three-megawatt wind turbine uses 4.7 tons of copper? Electric vehicles. Do you drive an electric vehicle? "

Alex Sutton:

"Not yet Neil, but I hope to in the future."

Neil Gill:

"Well, there's about 3 million that were manufactured in 2021. That number is expected to increase to 70 million by 2040 and there is upwards of 50 kilograms of copper in each and every electric vehicle. So there is a real demand and the bigger problem is the supply shortage." 

Alex Sutton:

"Neil, that's great news for copper producers. Do you think these broader economic forces will help investors to make an investment in Locksley Resources? "

Neil Gill:

"Yeah, absolutely. And I think it is all about that supply shortage that is going to firm up the copper market in the future. The price is already going quite high for copper and the Paris climate goals, as I mentioned, ultimately, the path to net-zero emissions. If it's to be achieved through renewable energy, then copper is going to be the essential raw material in achieving that. There is no real investment in new copper mines at the moment and so essentially the copper market is sleepwalking into a real sizeable supply crisis. Investment now is crucial and we believe potentially very lucrative at any level."

Alex Sutton:

"I know it was very early stages at the moment, but do you see Locksley Resources developing this site and turning it into a producing asset?"

Neil Gill:

"We're very excited about what the first quarter is going to hold for us and then as I mentioned, we look at the feasibility of turning this into a mine and operating mine, the infrastructure that the town of Tottenham provides is exceptional. There are sealed roads, there are hospitals, there are swimming pools. There's a rail line as well. There are all the reasons why this would make a lucrative and profitable mine. And we also believe that Tottenham has a strong chance of being developed at some time into the future. And the outcome of the feasibility study will give us guidance on when that might be possible."

Alex Sutton:

"Thank you for your time and providing those insights into Locksley Resources."

Neil Gill:

"Alex, thank you for your time. And I look forward to updating you in the first quarter of next year and also the market too. "

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