True North Copper Confirms Broad Aquila Copper System at Mt Oxide

Diamond Drilling Confirms Broad Copper System at Mt Oxide as True North Copper Expands Aquila

True North Copper Limited (ASX: TNC) has reported assay results from the first three diamond drillholes in its 2026 program at the Aquila Copper-Cobalt-Silver Discovery within the Mt Oxide Project in north-west Queensland. The results indicate a broad and continuous mineralised copper system that remains open along strike and at depth.

According to the ASX announcement, the drilling confirms Aquila as a mineralised system now defined over more than 1.8km of interpreted strike, up from about 1.2km prior to the latest drilling and induced polarisation (IP) extension work. For investors following ASX copper exploration stories, the update matters because it strengthens confidence in scale, continuity, and the presence of multiple mineralised trends within the broader Mt Oxide area.

First Three Diamond Holes Confirm Continuity at Aquila

The three reported holes all returned broad copper intersections with internal higher-grade zones, which the company says validate its Aquila geological model.

All widths reported in the announcement are downhole intercepts.

The most eye-catching result came from MOXDD26_001, which intersected 35m @ 0.82% copper from 32m, including 4m @ 4.08% copper from 38m. In practical terms, shallower mineralisation can be important because it may improve future development options if further work continues to support scale and economic potential.

Hole MOXDD26_003 also stood out for another reason. According to the company, it extended the interpreted Acanthis structural trend to the north, taking that trend to approximately 500m of strike.

What Does the Latest Drilling Say About Scale?

In the report, True North described Aquila as a broad, laterally continuous and vertically extensive hydrothermal mineralised system. Drilling has now confirmed stockwork-style sulphide mineralisation to vertical depths of at least 250m, with the system still open.

That matters because investors often look for more than isolated high-grade intervals. Broad mineralised widths repeated across multiple holes can point to the type of scale needed for a future resource base.

Aquila has now been interpreted over:

• More than 1.8km of strike
• At least 250m vertical depth
• Multiple parallel trends including Aquila, Acanthis and Apollo
• Additional step-out potential at Aquila North

Furthermore, the ASX announcement states that prior IP surveying extended the mineralised footprint by 600m to the north, helping define extra drill targets.

Why Does Stockwork Mineralisation Matter?

Stockwork mineralisation is a term used often in copper exploration, but it can be confusing outside specialist circles. In simple terms, a stockwork is a broad zone containing many closely spaced mineral-bearing veins cutting through the host rock. Instead of one narrow vein, there are repeated fractures and vein arrays through a larger rock package.

At Aquila, the company says this mineralisation style includes sheeted quartz-carbonate-sulphide veins, stockwork sulphide vein arrays, and sulphide-bearing breccias.

From an investor perspective, this style can be associated with bulk tonnage potential if mineralisation proves continuous enough and grades remain supportive over scale. True North said the Aquila Zone is characterised by a roughly 30m true-width package of stockwork copper sulphide mineralisation located about 10m to 20m below surface.

Key Terms Worth Understanding

A few related terms from the announcement are worth clarifying:

• True width: the estimated actual thickness of the mineralised zone, rather than the longer interval measured down the drillhole.
• IP geophysics: a survey method that measures how rocks respond electrically, often used to identify sulphide-rich zones before drilling.
• Breccia: broken rock that has been cemented together, sometimes by mineral-rich fluids.
• Chalcocite, covellite and bornite: copper sulphide minerals with relatively high copper content, often associated with stronger-grade zones.

The company reported that higher-grade domains within Aquila are characterised by these higher copper-content sulphide minerals, with consistent mineralogical signatures observed across MOXDD26_001 to MOXDD26_003 over about 800m of strike.

Managing Director Commentary

"These diamond drilling results represent another important step in growing the Mt Oxide Project into a potential standalone copper development opportunity," said Andrew Mooney, Managing Director of True North Copper.

"The drilling program continues to demonstrate the scale of the Aquila mineral system, now defined over more than 1.8 kilometres of interpreted strike, while confirming broad mineralisation with well-developed higher-grade zones."

Geological Context: What Should Investors Focus On?

The presentation of the drill results points to more than isolated mineralisation. The company says the three holes support a coherent hydrothermal system with broad envelopes of copper mineralisation and internal higher-grade domains.

Key geological observations from the report include:

• Mineralisation occurs within a multi-phase structural vein network
• Higher-grade areas are linked to increased vein density and hydrothermal breccias
• Copper sulphides occur both as vein fill and as replacement of earlier sulphides
• The Aquila Zone is steeply dipping and shows changing dip direction along strike

This introduces some geometric complexity. Even so, the consistent broad intercepts across the holes were presented by the company as evidence of continuity at system scale.

The report also compares this mineralisation style with deposits in the Mt Isa-Cloncurry Province, including the nearby Capricorn Copper Mining District, reported by 29Metals at 64.2Mt @ 1.8% Cu and 9g/t Ag. This is regional geological context rather than a direct equivalence, but it helps explain why broad stockwork-hosted copper systems attract investor attention in this part of Queensland.

Aquila Is Part of a Wider Mineralised Corridor

One of the more important points in the ASX update is that Aquila is not being treated as a standalone target. According to the announcement, the recognition of Apollo and Acanthis supports the view that a wider mineralised corridor is emerging at Mt Oxide.

The main trends outlined in the drilling update are:

• Aquila: the main discovery zone, now at 1.8km+ interpreted strike
• Acanthis: a sub-parallel trend extended to about 500m strike
• Apollo: first-pass drilling underway
• Aquila North: step-out drilling in progress

This type of multi-trend system can be important over time because it offers several pathways to resource growth, rather than relying on a single target.

The company said that both MOXDD26_002 and MOXDD26_003 intersected the Acanthis Zone, where similar veining, alteration and copper sulphide mineralisation styles were observed. Results from Acanthis so far are described as more subdued than Aquila. However, dedicated drill testing has not yet adequately tested the core of that trend.

How Does Aquila Fit Within the Broader Mt Oxide Project?

Aquila sits within a broader Mt Oxide project area that already contains the Vero Mineral Resource, approximately 4km south-west of the discovery. The current Vero resource quoted in the announcement is shown below.

The project also includes a Vero Cobalt Resource of 9.15Mt @ 0.23% Co across Measured, Indicated and Inferred categories.

For investors, this existing resource base provides important context. Aquila is not the first mineralised system at Mt Oxide, but rather a second significant copper-cobalt-silver discovery within the same project area. According to the report, this supports the concept of Mt Oxide as an emerging copper district.

Location also matters. The company states that Mt Oxide is approximately 100km north of the Glencore Copper Smelter and 20km north of 29Metals' Capricorn Copper Mine, placing it within an established copper-producing region.

What Are the Next Catalysts From the 2026 Drilling Program?

The first three diamond holes are only part of a much larger exploration campaign. The announcement lists a further ten diamond and RC holes completed, with assays still pending across multiple targets.

In addition, the company said it intends to:

1. Release further assay results from Aquila, Aquila North, Apollo and Acanthis.
2. Continue drilling to test extensions and refine the geological model.
3. Advance regional exploration including Ivena North and Rhea.
4. Progress technical studies, metallurgy and geological modelling for Mt Oxide.

That pipeline suggests continued news flow over coming months, which is often a key driver of market attention for ASX exploration companies.

True North Copper's Broader Asset Strategy

The report also placed Mt Oxide within True North's three-platform growth strategy across its 100%-owned north-west Queensland portfolio.

Those platforms are described as:

• Grow: expand Mt Oxide, including the Vero resource and Aquila discovery
• Develop: advance the Cloncurry Copper Project, which the company says hosts 126kt copper and 163koz gold in Mineral Resources
• Discover: continue regional exploration targeting larger iron oxide copper gold (IOCG) systems such as Chumvale, Marimo and Salebury

This broader portfolio matters because it means the company's value proposition is not based solely on one drill program, even though Aquila is currently a major focus.

Why the Mt Oxide Update Matters

The latest drilling update strengthens the exploration case at Mt Oxide in several meaningful ways. It adds confidence that Aquila is a broad and continuous copper system, extends the interpreted footprint to more than 1.8km, and supports the presence of multiple related mineralised trends in the same area.

For investors, the main points from the ASX announcement are clear:

• Broad copper intersections were reported in all three diamond holes
• Higher-grade internal zones continue to appear within the broader mineralised envelope
• Near-surface mineralisation in MOXDD26_001 may be important for future development studies
• Acanthis and Apollo add target depth beyond the main Aquila zone
• Ten additional holes remain to report, providing a continuing stream of potential catalysts

At this stage, the story remains exploration-led. No new resource estimate was reported in this announcement, and the next phase of value definition is likely to depend on further assay results, continued drilling, and technical work. Even so, according to the report, the first three diamond holes have materially improved understanding of Aquila and increased confidence in the scale of the broader Mt Oxide copper-cobalt-silver system.

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