Winu is a major Neoproterozoic intrusion-related Cu-Au-Ag system discovered by Rio Tinto (RTZ) in 2017, with a maiden resource (2019) of 608 Mt @ 0.49% CuEq (1.8 Mt contained Cu, plus gold/silver) as of the 2021 update. Mineralization is concealed at ~60 m depth in the Paterson Province of Western Australia and remains open in multiple directions.

LWIR thermal satellite unmixing, TVM overlap mapping, Thermal Inertia, and hydrogen seepage detection, geologists accurately predicted the orebody’s position and size during drilling, highlighting a substantial (≈85%) correlation with the RTZ deposit outline and outlining three additional exploration targets, one of which coincides with the Ngapakarra gold discovery.

Aster Funds’ remote sensing techniques predicted the Winu orebody location, shape, and extensions with high accuracy during drilling, validated by subsequent discovery. The integration of spectral mapping, hydrogen seepage, and thermal inertia methods underscores their value in de-risking and accelerating exploration in concealed and structurally complex terranes.

The results highlight the predictive capability of LWIR/TIR thermal/spectral approaches in combination with hydrogen seepage detection for reducing exploration risk in covered terrains and for constraining ore body geometry before final drill confirmation.