Barossa Project

Zircon-Rich Heavy Mineral Sands Project – South Australia

The Barossa Project comprises a strategically located heavy mineral sands tenure package in the eastern Eucla Basin of South Australia, approximately 90km south-east of Iluka Resources’ Jacinth–Ambrosia mine.

Acquired from Iluka Resources Limited in December 2025, the Project includes the Kalahari, Mojave and Gobi prospects, which were defined through systematic exploration programs conducted between 2008 and 2019.

Historical exploration has identified three mineralised zones with an average heavy mineral (HM) grade of approximately 4.6%. The mineral assemblage is dominated by ilmenite (~60% of HM), zircon (~16%) and rutile (~2%), providing exposure to a zircon-rich heavy mineral system within one of Australia’s most prospective mineral sands provinces.

The Project is situated within the Ooldea and Barton paleo-shoreline corridors, geological settings that host multiple significant deposits across the eastern Eucla Basin. Historical aircore drilling and passive seismic (HVSR) surveys confirmed embayment-style marine placer systems with defined high-grade cores.

Barossa is currently at an exploration stage, with no JORC Mineral Resource defined. Future work will focus on data validation, targeted drilling and evaluation of development pathways.

The acquisition broadens McLaren Minerals’ commodity exposure and strengthens its long-term development pipeline within supportive Australian mining jurisdictions.