Tennant Minerals chief executive officer Vincent Algar said: “Our analysis has identified a very good comparison between the level of copper anomalism seen above the high-grade Bluebird body of mineralisation and shallow geochemical drilling previously conducted at Bluebird East.”
The Bluebird deposit is the crown jewel in Tennant’s portfolio. Previous drilling at the site yielded head-turning intersections, including a 14.1m hit running 7.6 per cent copper and 2.4g/t gold, a hefty 61.8m at 2.3 per cent copper and 0.4g/t gold and 63m at 2.1 per cent copper at 4.6g/t gold.
The deposit is open to the west and down-plunge, providing opportunities for resource expansion. Tennant is refining its geological models and identifying new drill locations to support a planned mineral resource estimate.
Geophysical data enhances the Bluebird East target’s prospectivity. The anomaly aligns with an east-west magnetic feature and is adjacent to a gravity anomaly, consistent with a Bluebird repeat.
The company is also elbows deep in its spreadsheets as it initiates a copper processing strategic alliance with its neighbours Emmerson Resources and CuFe Ltd. The three companies are progressing through a scoping study to evaluate a shared processing facility at Tennant Creek, in the hope a multi-user plant could reduce capital and operational costs while accelerating a large project development.
With gold prices pushing US$3400 (A$5270) per ounce and copper at a healthy US$4.65 (A$7.21) per pound, the alliance is well-positioned to capitalise on copper-gold tailwinds.
The Tennant Creek mineral field has a storied history, having produced more than 5.5 million ounces of gold at 6.9g/t and 700,000 tonnes of copper at 2.8 per cent. Bluebird and Bluebird East hint at a revival of mining in the area thanks to their interpreted high-grade iron oxide, copper and gold mineralisation.
As Tennant advances its strategic alliance studies, management seem confident in its ability to leverage the geological similarities at Bluebird East to Bluebird central to turn up yet another high-grade discovery in the storied copper-gold region.
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