Source : THE AGE NEWS
By Andrew Todd
Northern Territory explorer Tennant Minerals has uncovered a big copper anomaly at its Barkly project outside Tennant Creek. The company says its Bluebird East prospect possesses many geological similarities to its extensively drilled, high-grade Bluebird copper-gold deposit immediately along strike.
Tennant will leverage historical drilling data and recent exploration insights to prepare a targeted drilling program to test the anomaly’s potential.
Tennant Minerals Bluebird prospects in the Northern Territory, including the newly identified Bluebird East prospect.
The company still has assays from detailed one-metre samples from Bluebird East pending from a drill program last December.
A detailed review of historical shallow drilling at Bluebird East has revealed a copper-in-ironstone anomaly extending for at least 250m, which is 350m northeast of the Bluebird deposit.
The anomaly exhibits copper grades ranging from 100 parts per million (ppm) to 1200ppm copper, with anomalous gold up to 0.6 grams per tonne (g/t) gold, closely resembling the pre-discovery geochemical signature of Bluebird.
Tennant says the similarities, combined with limited drilling below 50m at Bluebird East, highlight the new area as a compelling, priority, under-explored target for another potential copper-gold discovery.
The Bluebird East anomaly is classified as “blind”. It has about 50m of weathered cover and no surface expression – a characteristic shared with the company’s flagship deposit.
Tennant’s recent slimline reverse circulation drilling also highlighted iron enrichment across a 600m zone, which significantly extends the predicted target.
The company is now planning a follow-up drilling campaign to probe below the base of oxidation, where management anticipates drilling will intercept higher-grade mineralisation.
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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