Canterbury Resources Limited announced that drilling is about to commence at the Briggs Copper Project in Queensland. Exploration of the Project is being funded by Alma Metals Limited under an Earn-In Joint Venture agreement. The Project includes the Briggs Central copper deposit, where an Inferred Resource of 143Mt at 0.29% Cu has been defined and the current program will test large scale Exploration Targets outlined at the adjoining Northern and Central Porphyry areas.

Soil sampling over the Briggs porphyry copper system has outlined anomalous copper greater than 0.1% over three areas (Northern, Central and Southern). Geological mapping and limited drilling confirm that each of these three anomalies define outcropping mineralised granodioritic intrusions and volcanic sediments containing copper bearing quartz stockworks. Six deep diamond drill holes for a total of 3,000m are planned in the current program; four to potentially expand the Inferred Resource and evaluate the Exploration Target at Briggs Central, and two to evaluate the Exploration Target at the Northern Porphyry.

The Bismarck Project on Manus Island, Papua New Guinea, is prospective for concealed porphyry-style copper-gold-molybdenum mineralisation adjacent to or below extensive zones of mapped advanced argillic altered lithocap. The Project is being funded by Rio Tinto Exploration (PNG) Limited (RTX) under a Farm-In and Joint Venture Agreement. Mobilisation has commenced for a program of mapping and sampling, comprising: Regional drainage sampling below the elevated terrain of the lithocap at the Dremsel and Tahi prospects to validate historical geochemistry and search for mineralogical associations related to proximal porphyry alteration types.

Geological mapping and sampling, traversing high priority creeks with anomalous geochemistry and mineralogy within the Dremsel and Tahi prospects to search for porphyritic intrusions, porphyry related mineralisation, alteration, and veining. Geological mapping and sampling across recently cleared logging tracks that transect the edge and top of the lithocap extent within the Dremsel and Tahi prospects to search for evidence of overprinting systems in the newly exposed cuttings. Geological reconnaissance, stream sediment panned concentrate and drainage sampling at Njekel in search for proximal porphyry alteration types and/or high sulphidation Au-Ag signatures.

Canterbury personnel have assumed operational responsibility for the current field activities. The data generated from the current program will be integrated with existing mapping plus mineralogical, geochemical and ZTEM/AEM geophysical data to optimise design of potential future drill targets.