Getech announced it has won a new contract with East Star Resources to locate porphyry copper deposits in Kazakhstan. The project is backed by the BHP Xplor 2024 accelerator programme and is the first time Getech's Globe geoscience platform will be used to locate porphyry copper. The contract win builds on the Company's joint venture agreement with East Star Resources, announced last month, to explore for sedimentary copper deposits in Kazakhstan.

For this contract aimed at locating porphyry copper, the Company will receive a fee for exploration services. Combining its Globe geoscience platform market-leading potential fields data with East Star Resource's technical expertise and access to local data, Getech will conduct a comprehensive structural interpretation of the area of interest to produce a series of palaeo-tectonic reconstructions and cross-sections demonstrating the local geology. Building on this foundation and integrating Getech's extensive mineral occurrence database and remote sensing data, the company will employ sophisticated machine learning techniques to locate prospective areas for commercial porphyry copper deposits.

These insights will help East Star prioritise exploration targets and identify new areas for exploration. East Star is one of the six participants in the B HP Xplor 2024 accelerator programme, designed to support early-stage mineral exploration companies in finding the critical resources needed to support the energy transition. Getech is a member of the BHP Xplor network of external industry experts having supported Asian Battery Minerals in locating nickel in Mongolia as part of the programme in 2023.

Since joining the BHP Xplor programme, East Star has acquired two exploration licenses for copper porphyry in Kazakhstan and plans to secure several more within its areas of interest. Global demand for copper is rising steadily and is only expected to accelerate as copper is crucial for green technologies and electrification. As known copper sources deplete, the discovery of new deposits is essential to meet growing demand.

These porphyry copper deposits, typically characterised by their relatively large size and low extraction costs, are pivotal in supporting the energy transition.