The company today reported a hit of 75m (estimated true thickness 62m) at 2.1% copper, 3.1% zinc and 8.9 grams per tonne silver, including 8m at 3.6% copper, 13.9% zinc and 17.6gpt silver, outside the current resource in the B lens.

Speaking to MNN this morning on the sidelines of the Resources Rising Stars conference, Develop managing director Bill Beament described the intercept as an “absolute stonker” and one of the best copper hits reported on the ASX in the past year.

“It doesn’t take many of them to grow your resource,” he said.

Woodlawn already has a resource of 7.3 million tonnes at 5.7% zinc, 1.8% copper, 2% lead and 44.9gpt silver and 0.6gpt gold.

Develop is about 65% through the current drilling program but has only received 15% of the assays.

Other results included 12m at 1% copper, 6.2% zinc, 3.9% lead and 36.3gpt silver in a newly identified area of the G lens and 6.8m at 2.9% copper and 8.6gpt silver in the recently identified J lens.

Geology manager Luke Gibson said everything about the program was exceeding expectations.

“We knew there was going to be incremental growth – the exploration was always there – but to get results like that, particularly in the J lens, so early, is a bit unexpected,” he said.

Beament said it was clear Woodlawn was a well-endowed system.

“The majority of these intercepts are outside the current resource shape so we’re going to get some pretty good growth in this resource,” he said.

“And we’ve already got a really solid mine plan we’re putting together and we’re tracking towards getting it operationally ready for the new year.”

The mine plan is due by mid-year but the company is already developing the underground.

“The first four levels, we’ve already gone in, set up stockpiles, ventilation, cross-cutting the ore of the first major lens which is going to underpin the first two years of production,” Beament said.

Woodlawn’s history

Develop acquired Woodlawn a year ago for A$30 million cash upfront and up to $70 million of future milestone payments.

Previous owner Heron Resources went into administration after investing about $340 million in the project, including a new plant and underground mine, but it experienced a problematic start-up in 2019, which included a dispute with a contractor, budget overruns and delays, productivity issues and a lack of working capital.

The mine previously operated profitably for 20 years but was closed in 1998 due to weak metal prices.

The project’s history means Develop’s had its fair share of naysayers but Beament said he’d experienced the same thing when buying older assets in his former role as executive chairman of Northern Star Resources.

“I love debunking them,” he said.

“Once people get on the ground and look at the quality of the infrastructure, the quality of the underground, the geology, it’s pretty exciting.”

Beament put another $7.5 million into Develop yesterday via the exercise of options, taking his interest from 15.5% to 19.6%.

“Now 20%, on my way to 30%,” he said.