WCM successfully convinced investors to chip in A$5.5 million at 20c per share.

 

"It was oversubscribed quite rapidly," Pascoe told MNN.

 

Pascoe, who was involved in significant discoveries such as the Magellan lead-zinc deposit in Western Australia, the two million ounce Tocantinzinho gold deposit in Brazil, and the 1Moz Kerimenge gold deposit in Papua New Guinea, told MNN he "couldn't see really why it (the Western Cobar Basin) wouldn't have the same or better potential" as the eastern basin, which hosts multiple, long-life mines.

 

A few years ago, he looked at the data, which confirmed the rocks were the same, and quickly grew interested in a 5km by 2km lead anomaly that had seen limited RAB drilling by BHP.

 

"You only get that if there is something major nearby," Pascoe said.

 

A chance meeting with Ron Roberts led the pair to peg the ground that forms the basis of WCM's Bulla Park and Mount Jack projects.

 

Pascoe then started knocking on doors looking for potential partners, but with a fire lit under the price of the red metal in recent months it became possible to undertake an initial public offer.

 

WCM's focus at Bulla Park is for the potential for stratabound copper.

 

Sandfire Resources had optioned the area in 2018, spending $2.2 million looking for a steeply-dipping, high-grade Cobar-style orebody. 

 

"Gravity highs are caused by alteration which lies on iron. Sandfire believed it had explained the anomaly by intersecting iron, but if it drilled deeper it may have found the copper," Pascoe said.

 

Pascoe said the gravity anomaly reflected siderite and haematite alteration, and a shallow lead layer. 

 

Sandfire walked away leaving a best intercept of 135m of 0.24% copper, including 33m of 0.45% copper and four grams per tonne silver, but has left good quality data and core, which WCM is using as a springboard in its exploration for thick, lower-grade, bulk tonnage, stratabound deposit.  

 

Pascoe believes the drilling penetrated the top of the copper horizon oblique to the strike direction, so three holes will be drilled at a spacing of 400m, to depths of up to 500m, chasing better grades.

 

A DDH1 Drilling diamond rig is about to mobilise to drill at Bulla Park, and one hole into a lookalike prospect, Mountain, before moving to Mt Jack for the final diamond hole of the maiden program.

 

Pascoe said Mt Jack was a "nice looking" magnetic anomaly where previous drilling by Minotaur Exploration had stopped just above the magnetic source, but where there were encouraging indications of copper and gold. 

 

Pascoe described Mt Jack as more conventional, Cobar-style prospect. 

 

WCM shares traded between 22-25c during its maiden session, closing up 12% at 22.5c, with around 1.2 million shares traded.