Kalkaroo 80% pathway for Sandfire: design and scheduling notes for mine planners
Reviewed by Tom Sullivan

First reported on Australian Mining
30 Second Briefing
Sandfire Resources and Havilah Resources have signed definitive transaction agreements giving Sandfire a clear pathway to an 80 per cent interest in the Kalkaroo copper–gold project in South Australia’s Curnamona Province. The deal formalises Sandfire’s role in funding and advancing studies and approvals for the large-scale open pit copper–gold deposit, positioned near existing infrastructure and within a region already hosting multiple base metals operations. For geotechnical and mine planners, the move signals likely acceleration of resource definition drilling, pit design work and long-lead infrastructure planning at Kalkaroo.
Technical Brief
- Similar earn‑in structures are increasingly used in Australian copper projects to de‑risk early-stage capex exposure.
Our Take
Within our 466 copper- and gold-tagged pieces, South Australian projects like Kalkaroo are relatively under-represented compared with WA and Queensland, suggesting Sandfire Resources is positioning into a less crowded but geologically prospective jurisdiction.
Sandfire Resources already features frequently in our Mining coverage for base metals growth, so moving towards an 80 per cent position in a copper-gold project aligns with its pattern of building scale in long-life copper assets rather than short-cycle gold-only plays.
For Havilah Resources, ceding a path to majority control at Kalkaroo in South Australia fits a recurring theme in our database of junior copper-gold holders in Australia trading project equity for development certainty and access to a larger operator’s balance sheet.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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