Tennant Minerals - Spectacular Drill Hit of 30.5m @ 6.2% Copper and 6.8 g/t Gold at Bluebird Includes 17.8m @ 11.5 g/t Gold and 16.1m @ 10.5% Copper (Massive Sulphides)

Tennant Minerals Limited – 8 February 2023

Thick, true-width, intersections of high-grade copper and gold highlight the potential to expand the Bluebird discovery, which remains open in all directions   

-          Diamond drillhole BBDD0018 has produced a spectacular, true-width, intersection of high-grade copper and gold at the Bluebird discovery, 40km east of Tennant Creek in the NT:

• 30.5m @ 6.2% Cu and 6.8 g/t Au from 153.6m (downhole),

• including 17.8m @ 5.2% Cu and 11.5 g/t Au from 153.6m, and,
• including 16.1m @ 10.5% Cu and 0.44 g/t Au from 164.9m.

Image 1: Massive copper-sulphides in BBDD00181, part of very high-grade copper intersection, 16m @ 10.5% Cu

-          This spectacular gold and copper-sulphide intersection occurs at a similar depth to previous, exceptional, copper-gold intersections at Bluebird, including:

• BBDD0012: 63m @ 2.1% Cu, 4.6 g/t Au from 153m incl. 40m @ 3.0% Cu, 7.3 g/t Au2
• BBDD0007: 50m @ 2.7% Cu, 0.52 g/t Au from 158m incl. 24m @ 5.0% Cu, 1.0 g/t Au3
• BBDD0013: 40m @ 2.6% Cu, 1.3 g/t Au from 131m incl. 24.5m @ 3.9% Cu, 0.45 g/t Au4
• BBDD-2: 20m @ 0.61% Cu, 8.17 g/t Au, from 157m incl. 4m @ 0.66% Cu, 37.9 g/t Au3

-          These intersections occur within a thick and shallow-plunging dilational zone which is open along strike to the east and especially to the west, where it becomes shallower.

-          New drilling is planned to test shallow extensions to this exceptionally thick and high-grade copper-gold zone, as well as at depth where results are pending from a further five drillholes, including intersections of thick and intense copper mineralisation (descriptions - Appendix 1). 

-          Drilling will also test other priority targets within the 2.5km Bluebird-Perseverance Corridor.

Tennant Minerals Chairman Matthew Driscoll commented:

“This latest drill-hit from Bluebird is truly spectacular and includes a thick and high-grade gold zone of over 11 grams per tonne, as well as a massive copper-sulphide zone grading over 10 percent copper.

“Drilling is already planned to extend this remarkable new discovery, which lies under shallow cover to the east of the Tennant Creek Mineral Field and continues to grow – in all directions.”

“The results are another key step in our strategy to identify multiple, multi-million tonne, high-grade copper-gold deposits within the Barkly Tenements, where we aim to establish a stand-alone copper-gold project.”

Tennant Minerals Limited (ASX: TMS), is excited to announce a spectacular, true-width intersection of high-grade copper and gold from BBDD00181, the first diamond drillhole of the recently completed Stage 2 drilling program at the Bluebird discovery (see intersection on longitudinal projection, Figure 1 below).

Figure 1: Bluebird discovery, longitudinal projection showing the latest spectacular intersection in BBDD0018

The spectacular BBDD0018 diamond drilling intersection of:

-          30.5m @ 6.2% Cu and 6.8 g/t Au from 153.6m (downhole)

includes a high-grade gold zone of 17.8m @ 11.5 g/t Au, 5.2% Cu from 153.6m which extends from the faulted hanging wall side of the brecciated ironstone. The gold zone overlaps with the high-grade copper  zone of 16.1m @ 10.5% Cu from 164.9m, which includes massive copper-sulphides (chalcopyrite and chalcocite – see descriptions, Appendix 1) (see Image 1).  The copper zone extends to the footwall side of this thick, true-width intersection (see Table 1 for all significant intersections and Table 2 for drilling details).

This new intersection extends the shallow easterly plunging dilational zone to the west, where it becomes shallower and remains open. This zone also includes the extraordinary results from BBDD0012 of 63.0m @ 2.1% Cu and 4.6 g/t Au2 from 153.0m and BBDD00091, which intersected 50m @ 2.7% Cu and 0.52 g/t Au3 from 158m, which occur at a similar depth below surface (see Figure 1). 

Other key intersections within this zone include BBDD0013, which intersected 40m @ 2.6% Cu and 1.34g/t Au4 from 131m, and the previous exceptionally high-grade gold intersection in BBDD-2 of 20m @ 0.61% Cu and 8.17 g/t Au3, from 157m (Figure 1).

The extension of this very-high grade copper-gold zone to the west and to a shallower depth opens up potential for new drilling to deliver more spectacular intersections in this direction (Figure 1).

Further results are pending from drillholes which tested western extensions of Bluebird, as well as at depth (see Figure 1 for pierce-point locations and Appendix 1 for descriptions of mineralisation), including:

-          BBDD0021, which intersected a 30m zone of hematite alteration, brecciation and sulphides from 161m downhole, including 18m of intense copper mineralisation (chalcocite, native copper)5.

-          BBDD0022, which intersected a 20m zone of hematite alteration/mineralisation from 244m downhole with a 10m zone of intense brecciation and copper mineralisation (predominantly chalcocite)5, and,

-          BBDD0025, which intersected a 25m zone of hematite alteration and brecciation from 199m downhole, including 15m of intense copper mineralisation with visible sulphides (predominantly chalcocite)6.

Table 1 below includes all significant intersections in BBDD0018: 

Table 2 below includes Bluebird Stage 2 drillhole details: 

ABOUT THE BARKLY PROJECT AND THE BLUEBIRD COPPER-GOLD DISCOVERY

The high-grade Bluebird copper-gold discovery is located within the Company’s 100% owned Barkly Project, at the eastern edge of the richly-endowed Tennant Creek Mineral Field (TCMF), which produced over 5Moz of gold and over 500kt of copper from 1934 to 20057 (see Figure 2 below).

Figure 2: Location of the Barkly Project and major historical mines in the Tennant Creek Mineral Field

The latest diamond drilling intersections in the Stage 2 drilling program (see longitudinal projection of Bluebird discovery, Figure 1) have extended the thick high-grade dilational zone of mineralisation at Bluebird 120m to the west of the Stage 1 high-grade copper-gold intersections (total now 240m strike-length and open in all directions) previously announced by the Company1,2, which included:

-          63.0m @ 2.1% Cu and 4.6g/t Au from 153m (down hole) in BBDD00122 (448,360mE)

• including 40.0m @ 3.0% Cu and 7.3g/t Au from 155.0m,
• including 27.55m @ 3.6% Cu and 10.0g/t Au from 160.45m.

-          50.0m @ 2.7% Cu and 0.52 g/t Au from 158m (down hole) in BBDD00093 (448,380mE)

• including 24.0m @ 5.01% Cu and 1.01 g/t Au from 159m,
• including   4.3m @ 14.7% Cu and 3.10 g/t Au from 176.6m.

The Stage 1 drilling program, which targeted depth extensions of the Bluebird deposit, produced results including 17.8m @ 3.7% Cu, 0.34g/t Au from 277m (incl. 9.5m @ 6.0% Cu) in BBDD00154, which indicates proximity to a second dilational (thickened) zone at depth (see cross section 448,360mE, Figure 3).

The results of an induced polarisation (IP) program carried out at Bluebird revealed a distinct low-resistivity (high conductivity) and coincident chargeability response, corresponding with the Bluebird mineralisation on the central section 448,360mE (see Figure 3), thus confirming that Bluebird can be detected using IP.  This section includes the BBDD0012 intersection of 63m @ 2.1% Cu, 4.6g/t Au2 and the IP low-resistivity zone indicates continuity below 400m depth.

Interpretation of the key drilling intersections, utilising structural data from logging of drill core, indicates that the thick and high-grade copper and gold intersections in BBDD00122 (Figure 3) and BBDD00134, as well as the massive copper sulphide mineralisation in BBDD00181 (30.5m @ 6.2% Cu, 6.8 g/t Au – this release) are associated with structures crossing the axis of a shallow-plunging anticline, generating a thick dilational mineralised zone (see representative cross section, Figure 3, below). 

Figure 3: Bluebird cross section 448,360mE showing key intersections and anticlinal dilational “roll-over” zone.

The Stage 2 drilling Bluebird program built on the successful Stage 1 diamond drilling program.  A total of 16 holes for more than 4,321m were drilled in Stage 2 (see Tables 2 and 3 below), which successfully extended the Bluebird discovery along strike and at depth, where it remains completely open. 

Drilling also tested priority targets for extensions/repeats of the high-grade copper-gold zone along strike to the west within the 2.5km Bluebird-Perseverance Corridor8 (see Figure 4 below). 

Three priority, coincident magnetic, gravity and IP low-resistivity targets were selected for initial drill-testing, including Perseverance North, Perseverance and Bluebird West8 (Figure 4).  A multi-purpose (DDH1) rig was utilised to complete eight reverse-circulation (RC) holes with six diamond tails completed into these target zones, for a total of 1981.1m (see Table 3 for drilling details, results pending).

Figure 4: Bluebird-Perseverance zone bouguer gravity image with structures & gravity-magnetic-IP resistivity targets.

The initial drill testing intersected mineralised and brecciated fault structures in all three target areas9.  These are interpreted to lie above iron-stone hosted copper-gold targets previously identified by inversion modelling of gravity and magnetics, as well as associated with IP low resistivity geophysical anomalies. 

Following receipt of all results from the successful Stage 2 drilling program a third stage of drilling will be carried out, focusing on two key target areas:

i)        Bluebird Copper-Gold Discovery:

Deeper drilling to extend and define the Bluebird high-grade copper-gold discovery to the east and west, as well as testing the depth extent to greater than 400m depth, in order to define the multi-million tonne, high-grade copper-gold resource potential of the deposit.

ii)      Priority Targets in 2.5km Bluebird-Perseverance Corridor:

Testing of additional targets generated by the extension and infill IP program and deeper drilling on key sections drilled during the Stage 2 program, targeting further high-grade copper-gold discoveries.

These programs are in line with the Company’s strategy to identify multiple, multi-million tonne, high-grade copper-gold deposits within the Barkly Project, and become a stand-alone copper-gold producer.

Table 3 below includes Bluebird – Perseverance Priority Targets Stage 2 drillhole details :

Appendix 1 includes descriptions of the geology and mineralisation intersected in selected holes from the bluebird diamond drilling program and Appendix 2 includes JORC Table 1, Sections 1 and 2.

REFERENCES

1 28/10/2022. Tennant Minerals (ASX.TMS): “Massive Chalcopyrite Intersected at Bluebird”.

2 17/08/2022. Tennant Minerals (ASX. TMS): “Bonanza 63m@ 2.1% Copper and 4.6 g/t Gold Intersection at Bluebird”.

3 08 March 2022. Tennant Minerals (ASX. TMS): “Spectacular 50m @ 2.70% copper intersection at Bluebird”

4 07/09/2022. Tennant Minerals (ASX. TMS): “Up to 54.5% Cu in Massive Sulphides at Bluebird”.

5 21/11/2022. Tennant Minerals (ASX.TMS): “Drilling Doubles Strike Length of Bluebird Copper Gold”.

6 14/12/2022. Tennant Minerals (ASX.TMS): “Intensely Copper-Mineralised Drill-Hits Extend Bluebird”

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

8 25/08/2022. Tennant Minerals (ASX. TMS): “Standout Geophysical Targets to Replicate Bluebird Cu-Au Discovery”.

9 24/01/2023. Tennant Minerals (ASX. TMS): “Mineralised Structures at Key Copper-Gold Targets”

***ENDS***

For enquiries please contact:

Matthew Driscoll

Non-Executive Chairman

M: +61 (0) 417 041 725

Stuart Usher

Company Secretary

M: +61 (0) 499 900 044  

Andrew Rowell

White Noise Communications

M: +61 (0) 400 466 226

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING INFORMATION

This release contains forward-looking statements concerning Tennant Minerals Ltd.  Forward-looking statements are not statements of historical fact and actual events and results may differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of risks, uncertainties and other factors. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies.  Many factors could cause the Company’s actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking information provided by the Company, or on behalf of, the Company.  Such factors include, among other things, risks relating to additional funding requirements, metal prices, exploration, development and operating risks, competition, production risks, regulatory restrictions, including environmental regulation and liability and potential title disputes.

Forward looking statements in this release are based on the company’s beliefs, opinions and estimates of Tennant Minerals Ltd as of the dates the forward-looking statements are made, and no obligation is assumed to update forward looking statements if these beliefs, opinions and estimates should change or to reflect other future developments.

COMPETENT PERSONS DECLARATION

The information in this report that relates to exploration results is based on information compiled and/or reviewed by Mr Jonathon Dugdale.  Mr Dugdale is the Technical Advisor to Tennant Minerals Ltd and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (‘FAusIMM’). Mr Dugdale has sufficient experience, including over 35 years’ experience in exploration, resource evaluation, mine geology, development studies and finance, relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposits under consideration to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the Joint Ore Reserves Committee (‘JORC’) Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Minerals Resources and Ore Reserves.  Mr Dugdale consents to the inclusion in this report of the matters based on this information in the form and context in which it appears.