Australian nickel miner Mincor Resources has signed an exploration agreement with Japan’s state-owned Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) for its Bonaparte zinc project in Western Australia.

JOGMEC has agreed to fund up to A$2m of the project’s exploration cost, building on an existing joint venture covering Mincor’s large-scale Georgina Basin zinc project in the Northern Territory.

The Bonaparte project is thought to have large-scale, carbonate-hosted zinc, lead and silver deposits and sedimentary-hosted copper deposits, Mincor said.

The initial exploration programme, a wide-ranging airborne EM survey, is scheduled for September or October, Mincor said.