Tennant Minerals: New High-Grade Copper Sulphide & Gold Intersections Extend Bluebird Discovery to More Than 250m Depth

Latest holes include Massive Sulphides (Chalcocite) grading up to 54.5% copper

-          Latest drilling results from the Bluebird Discovery have produced exceptionally high-grade copper-gold sulphide intersections that have extended the mineralisation to over 250m depth and include massive sulphides with copper grades up to 54.5% Cu and gold grades up to 39 g/t.

-          Drillhole BBDD0013 extended the thick, westerly-plunging high-grade copper-gold zone to the west of BBDD0012 (63m @ 2.1% Cu, 4.6 g/t Au incl. 27.55m @ 3.6% Cu, 10 g/t Au1), where the mineralisation remains completely open. Exceptional intersections from BBDD0013 include:

-          40m @ 2.6% Cu and 1.34 g/t Au from 131m (down hole)

-          including 24.5m @ 3.9% Cu and 0.45 g/t Au from 146.5m

-          including 4.75m @ 15.2% Cu and 0.36 g/t Au from 164m incl. 0.8m @ 54.5% Cu

-          and including 3.0m @ 1.8% Cu and 13.2 g/t Au from 181m incl. 1m @ 39 g/t Au.

-          Diamond drillhole BBDD0015 is a 100m step-out that has doubled the depth of Bluebird to more than 250m, where it remains completely open. High-grade intersections from BBDD0015 include:

-          17.8m @ 3.7 % Cu and 0.34 g/t Au from 277m (down hole)

-          Including 9.5m @ 6.0 % Cu and 0.48 g/t Au from 278m

-          including 2.3m @ 12.3 % Cu and 0.36 g/t Au from 285.2m

-          Assay results are pending for the remaining two completed holes (BBDD0016 & 0017), both of which intersected thick hematite and visible copper sulphide mineralisation (see Appendix 1).

-          Down-hole electromagnetics (DHEM) as well as a surface Induced Polarisation (IP) survey have commenced, to map extensions and/or repeats of the sulphide zones for further drill-testing.

Tennant Minerals Chairman Matthew Driscoll commented: “The latest thick and high-grade copper and gold intersections from our Bluebird diamond drilling program are a real breakthrough, as they have confirmed the continuity of the high-grade sulphide mineralisation at depth and the massive chalcocite grades of up to 54.5 percent copper, coupled with gold grades of up to 39 grams per tonne, are truly spectacular.

“The recognition that the majority of the high-grade copper mineralisation is in sulphides has given impetus to our down hole EM program, to detect extensions to this high-grade copper-gold discovery.

“We have also commenced an IP geophysical survey over Bluebird to fingerprint the copper sulphide mineralisation, which will help us prioritise the up to 12 geophysical targets within the Bluebird-Perseverance Target Zone for drill-testing.

“This will give us even more confidence that Bluebird is just one of several high-grade copper and gold deposits awaiting discovery within the Company’s broader Barkly Project.”

Northern Territory focused copper-gold explorer, Tennant Minerals Limited (ASX: TMS) is very pleased to announce the assay results from a further three diamond drillholes recently completed at the Bluebird copper-gold discovery. These latest results include outstanding high-grade sulphide copper and gold intersections which have extended the Bluebird discovery by a further 100m to over 250m below surface (see longitudinal projection, Figure 1 and cross section 448,340mE, Figure 2).

Diamond drillhole BBDD0013 tested extensions of the mineralisation to the west of the previous spectacular copper and gold intersection in BBDD0012 (63m @ 2.1% Cu, 4.6 g/t Au incl. 27.55m @ 3.6% Cu, 10 g/t Au1), producing the following intersections of high-grade copper and gold that include spectacular assays associated with massive sulphides (chalcocite - Cu2S) of up to 54.5% Cu (see Photo 1):

-          40.0m @ 2.6% Cu and 1.34 g/t Au from 131.0m (down hole)

-          including 24.5m @ 3.9% Cu, 0.45 g/t Au from 146.5m

-          including 4.75m @ 15.2% Cu, 0.36 g/t Au from 164.0m incl. 0.8m @ 54.5% Cu

-          & including 3.0m @ 1.8% Cu and 13.2 g/t Au from 181.0m incl. 1.0m @ 39 g/t Au.

Diamond drillhole BBDD0015 is a 100m step-out at depth (down-plunge) from BBDD0012 that produced the following thick and high-grade copper sulphide with gold intersections:

-          17.8m @ 3.7 % Cu and 0.34 g/t Au from 277m (down hole)

-          Including 9.5m @ 6.0 % Cu and 0.48 g/t Au from 278.0m

-          including 2.3m @ 12.3 % Cu and 0.36 g/t Au from 285.2m.

The intersection in BBDD0015 has doubled the depth extent of the Bluebird discovery to more than 250m below surface, where it remains completely open (see Figures 1 and 2).

Re-logging of cut and sampled core from these new intersections, as well as the previous spectacular intersection in BBDD0012, indicates that the majority of the copper mineralisation is the sulphide mineral chalcocite (Cu2S), which has the highest proportion of copper of any sulphide mineral.

The thick copper-gold intersection in BBDD0013 is associated with a dilational thickened zone developed within an anticlinal hinge “roll-over” position (Figure 2). Structural measurements indicate that BBDD0015 is close to another anticlinal dilational thickened target zone at depth (see Figure 2), which will be drill-tested as part of the Stage 2 follow-up program currently being planned.

Results were also received for BBDD0014, which intersected 28m @ 0.65% Cu from 128m downhole including 2m @ 1.6% Cu, 0.17 g/t Au and 2m @ 2.1% Cu. These intersections are interpreted to represent the top of the Bluebird copper-gold zone (see longitudinal projection, Figure 1 and cross section, Figure 2).

Results are awaited from two further step-out diamond drillholes that tested the Bluebird discovery to the west of all previous drillholes (see Figure 1) and include:

-          BBDD0017: 64m hematite alteration from 162m, including 33m of intense hematite-magnetite with visual copper mineralisation from 173m (see Appendix 1 for descriptions), and,

-          BBDD0016: deeper zone with 35m zone of hematite alteration from 291m with 21m of copper mineralisation from 294m (predominantly chalcocite - see Appendix 1 for descriptions).

Figure 1: Bluebird longitudinal projection with new and previous Cu-Au intersections.

Figure 2: Cross-section 448,340mE with new intersections BBDD0013, 14 and 15 and previous BBDD0010 drill-hit

An IP survey has commenced across the top of Bluebird to effectively “fingerprint” the sulphide mineralisation. In addition, downhole electromagnetics (DHEM) will shortly be carried out from the western-most holes (BBDD0016 and BBDD0017) to detect conductors that may represent extensions or repeats of the Bluebird sulphide zone.

Following receipt of all Stage 1 diamond drilling results and interpretation of structural and alteration data, a 3-dimensional model of the mineralised zone drilled to date will be constructed. This, combined with modelling of geophysical data, including the DHEM and IP surveys, will enable fine tuning of the follow-up Stage 2 drilling program that will be designed to significantly expand the footprint of Bluebird to over 300m strike length and >500m depth.

The dimensions and grades being produced from drilling of the Bluebird discovery suggest the potential similarity to the Peko deposit which produced 3.7Mt @ 4% Cu and 3.5 g/t Au from 1934 and 19813. Peko is located only 20km west of Bluebird in a similar geological setting (see Figure 3 for location).

ABOUT THE BLUEBIRD COPPER-GOLD DISCOVERY

Bluebird is located within the Company’s 100% owned Barkly Project in the Northern Territory at the eastern edge of the Tennant Creek (copper-gold) Mineral Field (TCMF), which produced over 5Moz of gold and over 500kt of copper from 1934 to 20054 (see location, Figure 3 below).

Figure 3: Location of the Barkly Project and major historical mines in the Tennant Creek Mineral Field

The six-hole (1,700m) Stage 1 follow-up diamond drilling program (for details, see Table 2) was designed to scope out and expand the footprint of the high-grade copper-gold zone discovered at Bluebird.

The intensely mineralised copper-gold intersections in BBDD0012 (see cross section, Figure 4), BBDD0013 and BBDD0015 (Figure 2) are located to the west and deeper (further down plunge) than BBDD0009, which intersected 50m @ 2.7% Cu and 0.52 g/t Au from 158m (down hole) including 24m @ 5.01% Cu, 1.01 g/t Au and 61.7 g/t Ag from 159m3 (see cross section 448,380mE, Figure 5 and Figure 1).

The drilling to date has identified a westerly plunging zone of copper-gold mineralisation that extends from 60m to more than 250m below surface (Figure’s 1 and 2) and 150m along strike in an east-west orientation.

Interpretation of the key drilling intersections, utilising structural data from logging of drill core, indicates that the thick and high-grade copper and gold intersection in BBDD0012 is associated with steeply dipping structures that have intersected the axis of a shallow-plunging anticline (see Figure 2 and Figure 4 below). This association with anticlinal fold structures is analogous to other major discoveries at Tennant Creek including the Warrego copper-gold deposit (Figure 3) which produced 6.75Mt @ 1.9% Cu, 6.6 g/t Au4 and the Rover 1 discovery of Castille Resources (ASX. CST), located under cover to the southwest of Tennant Creek, where a Mineral Resource of 4.7Mt @ 1.63% Cu and 1.73 g/t Au has recently been announced5.

Figure 4: Cross-section 448,360mE & BBDD0012 & 10

Figure 5: Cross-section 448,380mE & BBDD0009

MULTIPLE COPPER-GOLD TARGETS IDENTIFIED WITHIN THE BLUEBIRD CORRIDOR

The Barkly Project comprises the Barkly (EL 28620) and Babbler (EL 30701) tenements (see location, Figure 3) which are both highly prospective for magnetite-hematite (iron-oxide) copper-gold (IOCG) mineralisation.

The Bluebird discovery is associated with a gravity high, which is part of a 5km long gravity anomaly known as the “Bluebird Corridor”. This gravity anomaly reflects high-density, iron enrichment in the primary zone below the near surface leaching that extends to >60m depth at Bluebird (Figure 1).

Interpretation of new detailed drone magnetics imagery and modelling (Figures 6 and 7), combined with the detailed gravity data, has identified12 coincident magnetic-gravity copper-gold targets within a 2km “Bluebird-Perseverance Target Zone” extending west of the high-grade Bluebird copper-gold discovery1. This major target zone includes an exceptionally strong magnetic-gravity feature centred below the historical Perseverance gold workings (see Figure 6, drone magnetics and Figure 7, detailed gravity image).

Previous RC drilling under the historical gold workings at Perseverance produced shallow high-grade gold intersections such as 3m @ 50.0 g/t Au from 42m in PERC0156 and 3m @ 43.2 g/t Au from 72m in PERC0016. These high-grade gold intersections have not been followed up and the underlying iron-stone copper-gold target is yet to be drill-tested.

The Company has commenced an IP geophysical survey over Bluebird to obtain a fingerprint of the sulphide mineralisation. This will help prioritise the drill testing of the up to 12 gravity-magnetic targets identified within the Bluebird-Perseverance Target Zone2 (see Figure’s 6 and 7).

Following the IP survey, further drilling will be planned to test the priority copper-gold targets identified from the magnetics and gravity modelling and the IP survey, within the 2km Bluebird-Perseverance Target Zone (Figures 6 and 7 below):

Figure 6: Bluebird-Perseverance magnetic intensity (reversed) image, with structures & magnetic-gravity targets

Figure 7: Bluebird-Perseverance bouger gravity image, with interpreted structures & magnetic-gravity targets

Table 1 below includes all significant intersections in BBDD0013, BBDD0014, BBDD0015:

Table 2 below includes Stage 1 drillhole details to date:

Appendix 1 includes descriptions of the mineralisation intersected in BBDD0016 and BBDD0017. Results for these holes will be reported when available. Appendix 2 is JORC Table 1, Sections 1 and 2.

REFERENCES

1 17/08/2022. Tennant Minerals (ASX. TMS): “Bonanza 63m@ 2.1% Copper and 4.6 g/t Gold Intersection at Bluebird”.

2 25/08/2022. Tennant Minerals (ASX. TMS): “Standout Geophysical Targets to Replicate Bluebird Cu-Au Discovery”.

3 8/03/2022. Tennant Minerals (ASX. TMS): “Spectacular 50m @ 2.7% Copper intersection at Bluebird”.

4 Portergeo.com.au/database/mineinfo. Tennant Creek - Gecko, Warrego, White Devil, Nobles Nob, Juno, Peko, Argo.

5 08/03/2022. Castile Resources (ASX. CST): “Large Increases in Gold, Copper and Cobalt at Rover 1”.

6 25/02/1995, Posgold. Final Report for Exploration Licence 7693, 2/6/92 to 25/11/94. NTGS Report CR19950192.

***ENDS***

This release was authorised by the Board of Tennant Minerals Ltd.

For enquiries please contact: 

Matthew Driscoll

Non-Executive Chairman

M: +61 417 041 725

Stuart Usher

Company Secretary

M: +61 499 900 044

Media and Broker enquiries:

Andrew Rowell

White Noise Communications

M: +61 400 466 226

E: [email protected]