Essex Minerals Inc. announced that it has reached terms with Meryllion Resources Corporation, for an arm's length option and earn-in joint venture on the Mt Turner copper-molybdenum and Drummer Fault gold projects in north Queensland, Australia. Highlights: Exploration by Essex has identified a coherent copper in soil anomaly (>100ppm) flanking a molybdenum in soil anomaly (>10ppm) over a 4km x 4km area at Mt Turner. The soil anomalies are coincident with circular aeromagnetic and geological features which display classic signatures of a large copper-molybdenum porphyry system.

Mt Turner also has the potential to identify an economic gold resource along the Drummer Fault structure, which has demonstrated gold mineralization beneath six small oxide open pits, previous drilling and rock chip samples along 14 km of the identified strike length within the project area. Essex has granted Meryllion a 90-day option to fund a minimum $250,000 on exploration at Mt Turner, including a detailed induced polarization survey to define drill targets within the porphyry system. Meryllion will then have the right to earn up to a 70% interest in the project by funding up to a further $3,800,000 in exploration in three stages.

$400,000 on exploration within 12 months from the exercise date of the Option (First Stage Earn-In) to earn 25%; $1,400,000 on exploration within 36 months of exercising the Option (Second Stage Earn-in) to earn 51%; and a further $2,000,000 on exploration to earn a total 70% interest. Summary Geology and Mineralization of the Mt Turner Project: The Mount Turner Property lies in the western portion of the Georgetown Inlier, which constitutes the bulk of the proclaimed Etheridge Goldfield. It consists of variably metamorphosed and deformed sedimentary and volcanic rocks of Palaeo- to Mesoproterozoic age, intruded by Mesoproterozoic granites.

The Proterozoic rocks have been intruded by Siluro-Devonian age granitic rocks during a period of subduction and underplating that is thought to have occurred during the Tabberabberan cycle of the Tasman Orogen (ca 430-380 Ma). The Georgetown Inlier subsequently experienced a period of felsic intrusion and accompanied sub-aerial volcanism during the Carboniferous to Permian period (ca 350-230 Ma) associated with extension and rifting that developed during the Hunter-Bowen cycle of the Tasman Orogeny. This magmatism is termed the Kennedy Association, which consists of widespread and voluminous extrusive and intrusive igneous rocks, producing a number of large volcanic subsidence structures.

This magmatic event was responsible for the 5 million-ounce Kidston gold deposit located some 70 kilometres to the SE of Mt Turner and several other precious metal deposits in Queensland. The Permo-Carboniferous Mt Turner intrusive complex, which is centred within the property, consists of multiple phases of rhyolite to micro-granodiorite dykes, stocks and associated breccias, hosted by the Meso-Proterozoic Mount Turner Granite and metasediments of the Palaeo-Proterozoic Lane Creek Formation. The overlying subaerial volcanics are postulated to have preserved the porphyry-style mineralisation.

The property was initially examined during the 1975 field season by geologists of the Australian Government's Bureau of Mineral Resources (now Geoscience Australia) and the Geological Survey of Queensland after discovery of extensive hydrothermal alteration around Mt Turner. The subsequent report (Baker & Horton, 1982) described the intrusive complex as a porphyry copper- molybdenum system with zoned polymetallic mineralisation. The report was based on 11 widespread, shallow vertical drill holes, <100 metres in depth and four diamond holes, only one of which was located near the intrusive centre.

None of the drill holes were assayed in their entirety. A portion of Mt Turner was held by Kidston Gold Mines (KGM) in 1994-1998 and assessed for gold only, then held by Mega Uranium in 2006-2007 and explored for uranium. No follow-up exploration has been undertaken on the porphyry copper-molybdenum potential identified in the 1970s until the ground was staked in 2019 by KNX Resources Limited, an Australian exploration company now owned 100% by Essex.

Essex currently owns 100% of the Mt Turner property.