If "nearology" is the science of getting close to those with good geology, then Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting is proving particularly adept in the case of rockstar copper explorer SolGold.

SolGold was back in the headlines this week when BHP Billiton paid a 20 per cent premium for a 6.1 per cent stake in the explorer, which has found encouraging copper and gold targets within its Cascabel tenement in Ecuador's Imbabura province.