New Drilling Program Well-Underway Testing Major Extensions to the Bluebird Discovery

-          Up to 4,000 metres of RC and diamond drilling testing shallow extensions of Bluebird and major new geophysical targets at Bluebird East and Bluebird West

-          A new drilling program, of up to 4,000m, is well underway at the Bluebird high-grade copper-gold discovery, following NT Government approval of the new Mine Management (drilling) Plan (MMP).

-          The new reverse circulation (RC)/diamond drilling program is initially testing shallow eastern extensions of the Bluebird mineralisation (refer Image 1), that project to within 40m of the surface in an area of shallow cover. Discovery and definition of this newly identified shallow mineralised zone offers potential for initial open-pit mining.

-          The second key objective of the current drilling program is to test priority targets identified from modelling of new geophysical data that has highlighted new targets at Bluebird East and Bluebird West, which have the potential to triple the extent of the Bluebird mineralisation.

Image 1: New RC and diamond drilling initially testing eastern extensions of the Bluebird high-grade copper-gold discovery under shallow cover.

Tennant Minerals Limited (“Tennant” or “Company”) (ASX:TMS) is pleased to announce that the new drilling program aiming to triple the strike-extent of the Bluebird high-grade copper-gold discovery is well underway. This program follows the recent approval of a new Exploration Operations ‘Mine Management Plan’ (MMP) received this month from the Northern Territory (NT) government.

The new drilling will comprise up to 4,000m of RC and diamond drilling and will aim to:

1. define and extend the newly discovered shallow extensions of the Bluebird mineralisation, and,
2. test the new and highly prospective targets identified at Bluebird East and Bluebird West for repeats of the high-grade copper-gold mineralisation.

The new targets at Bluebird East and Bluebird West have been identified through modelling of IP resistivity data combined with 3-D gravity inversions and detailed drone-magnetics imagery.

Previous, strongly copper anomalous shallow RAB drilling at Bluebird East is centred 500m to the east of the currently identified Bluebird discovery mineralisation footprint. The Bluebird East target is associated with recently modelled IP/low-resistivity anomaly and a thick and continuous gravity “ironstone” anomaly (see plan view, gravity model with targets, Figure 1, below). A similar IP low resistivity/gravity high is located at Bluebird West, centred 500m west of Bluebird, where no previous drilling has been carried out (see 3-D model of geophysical data, previous and planned drilling, Figure 2).

The geophysical modelling and previous geochemistry shows potential to triple the footprint of the copper-gold mineralised zone at the Bluebird discovery1.

Figure 1: Bluebird in plan projection with 3D gravity inversion model showing Bluebird East and West targets.

The new phase of drilling at Bluebird will build on the shallow copper-gold intersections that have confirmed the continuity of close to surface mineralisation in the eastern extension of the Bluebird copper-gold discovery2 (see longitudinal projection, Figure 3).

Drilling is also planned to further test the Bluebird mineralisation to the west where the mineralised zone remains open below recently received further significant results from the Stage 3 drilling, which intersected significant mineralisation (see Table 1 for significant Stage 3 drilling results), including:

-          11.95m @ 0.8% CuEq* (0.59% Cu, 0.12 g/t Au) from 240.05m incl. 2.0m @ 2.47% Cu in BBDD0028A

-          *Refer Appendix 1 for copper equivalent (CuEq) calculations.

Further diamond drilling will also test the western part of the discovery where recent Stage 3 drillhole BBDD0026 produced the exceptionally high-grade gold-copper-bismuth intersection shown below (see longitudinal projection, Figure 3 and cross section, Figure 4):

-          17.95m @ 2.66% Cu, 11.08 g/t Au 1.3% Bi from 131m incl. 5m @ 38.6 g/t Au, 6.11% Cu, 4.5% Bi3

Figure 2: Bluebird mineralisation model (red) with 3D gravity anomaly model (pale red) and key IP low resistivity inversion model sections showing Bluebird East and Bluebird West drilling targets – looking northwest.

Figure 3: Bluebird longitudinal projection showing significant Stage 3 drilling intersections and planned drilling.

Figure 4: Cross section 448,320mE showing exceptional Stage 3 gold-copper-bismuth intersection in BBDD0026

Table 1: Significant Stage-3 drilling intersections:

Table 2: Bluebird Stage 3 drillhole details:

ABOUT THE BARKLY PROJECT AND THE BLUEBIRD COPPER-GOLD DISCOVERY

The Bluebird high-grade copper-gold discovery is located within the Company’s 100% owned Barkly Project, on the eastern edge of the richly endowed Tennant Creek Mineral Field, which produced over 5.5Moz of gold and over 700kt of copper from 1934 to 20054 (see Figure 5 for location). Major historical mines in this region include Peko, which produced 3.7Mt @ 4% Cu, 3.5 g/t Au4 and Warrego, which produced 6.75Mt @ 6.6 g/t Au, 1.9% Cu4.

The mineralisation intersected at Bluebird is similar to the high-grade copper-gold orebodies previously mined in the Tennant Creek Mineral Field. The high-grade mineralisation is associated with intense hematite alteration and brecciation with secondary malachite (copper-carbonate) in the upper parts with native copper, transitioning with depth to primary sulphides including chalcocite, bornite and chalcopyrite.

Drilling to date has identified copper-gold mineralisation at Bluebird over a 500m strike length and from 60m below surface to over 300m depth. The deposit remains open in all directions (Figures 2, 3 and 4).

Exceptional intersections produced from the Bluebird discovery to date, from west to east, include:

-          BBDD0026: 18.0m @ 2.66% Cu, 11.08 g/t Au from 131.0m incl. 5.0m @ 6.11% Cu, 12.45 g/t Au3

-          BBDD0018: 30.5m @ 6.2% Cu, 6.8 g/t Au from 153.6m incl. 17.8m @ 5.2% Cu, 11.5 g/t Au5

-          BBDD0012: 63m @ 2.1% Cu, 4.6 g/t Au from 153m incl. 27.55m @ 3.6% Cu, 10.0 g/t Au6

-          BBDD0007: 50m @ 2.7% Cu, 0.52 g/t Au from 158m incl. 24m @ 5.0% Cu, 1.0 g/t Au7

The Company has a dual strategy of defining the resource potential of the Bluebird discovery as well as testing other targets within the Bluebird Corridor8 (Figure 1). Targets have been identified using gravity, magnetics, and IP resistivity modelling, as well as previous geochemistry where applicable8.

Figure 5: Location of the Barkly Project and major historical mines in the Tennant Creek Mineral Field.

Authorised for release by the board of directors.

***ENDS***

For enquiries please contact:

Stuart Usher

Company Secretary

M: +61 (0) 499 900 044

Andrew Rowell

White Noise Communications

M: +61 (0) 400 466 226

REFERENCES

1 01/09/2023. “New Bluebird Drilling to Target Triple the Strike-Length”.

2 15/08/2023. “New Results Confirm Eastern Bluebird Extension Discovery”.

3 19/07/2023. Tennant Minerals (ASX.TMS): “Drilling Doubles Strike Length of Bluebird copper-Gold discovery”.

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

5 08/02/2023. Tennant Minerals (ASX.TMS): “Spectacular Bluebird Drill-Hit 30.5m @ 6.2% Cu, 6.8 g/t Au”.

6 17/08/2022. Tennant Minerals (ASX. TMS): “Bonanza 63m@ 2.1% Copper and 4.6 g/t Gold Intersection at Bluebird”.

7 08 March 2022. Tennant Minerals (ASX. TMS): “Spectacular 50m @ 2.70% copper intersection at Bluebird”.

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