Tennant Minerals Limited: 55m Intensely Copper Mineralised Intersection at Bluebird

Latest drilling confirms width and intensity of copper mineralisation increasing to the west

-            The first hole in the new diamond drilling program at the Bluebird copper-gold discovery near Tennant Creek (BBDD0012) has produced a 55m intersection of strong to intense hematite and copper mineralisation (see Appendix 1 for description) from 155m downhole.

-            The intersection in BBDD0012 is located 20m to the west and deeper than the previous thick and high-grade intersection returned from BBDD00091 of:

• 50m @ 2.70% Cu, 0.52 g/t Au, 29.8 g/t Ag from 158m (down hole) in BBDD00091,

-          including 24m @ 5.01% Cu, 1.01 g/t Au, 61.7 g/t Ag from 159m,

-          including   5m @ 7.28% Cu, 1.29 g/t Au, 291 g/t Ag from 165m, and,

-          including   4.3m @ 14.7% Cu, 3.10 g/t Au from 176.6m.

-          The BBDD0012 intersection also confirms the intense hematite and copper mineralisation is increasing in thickness with depth to the west at the Bluebird discovery, and that the hole previously drilled on the same section (BBDD0010, see below) tested beneath the thickest part of the plunging high-grade copper-gold zone:

• 35.5m @ 2.58% Cu and 0.27 g/t Au from 194m (down hole) in BBDD00102,

-          including 18m @ 4.74% Cu and 0.50 g/t Au from 197m,

-          including   5m @ 6.53% Cu and 0.67 g/t Au from 197m, and

-          including   5.6m @ 8.06% Cu and 0.84 g/t Au from 205m.

-          Drill core is being logged and processed for submission to Intertek Laboratories in Alice Springs for sample preparation ahead of assaying in Townsville.

-          Drilling of the next diamond hole, BBDD0013, a further 20m to the west and deeper, down-plunge of BBDD0012, is in progress.

-          The latest results provide further confidence that Bluebird is a significant, high-grade copper-gold discovery within the highly-endowed Tennant Creek Mineral Field.

Tennant Minerals Chairman, Mr Matthew Driscoll, commented:

“Our latest follow-up diamond drilling program at the Bluebird copper-gold discovery is off to a tremendous start, with the first hole intersecting a 55 metre zone of intense hematite and copper mineralisation – a result which confirms our geological concept that the Bluebird mineralisation is getting thicker and more intense with greater depth to the west.”

“We look forward to completing the remaining holes in our latest, up to 4,500m diamond drilling program and turning around the assay results as quickly as we can.

“The Company is also eagerly anticipating the modelled results from the recently-completed drone magnetic survey flown over the entire 5km Bluebird corridor, which we will overlay with our gravity modelling to highlight the outstanding potential for additional copper-gold discoveries within our project boundaries.”

Tennant Minerals Limited (ASX: TMS) (“Tennant” or “the Company”) is pleased to announce that the first hole drilled in the follow-up, up to 4,500m diamond drilling program at the high-grade Bluebird copper-gold discovery has returned a 55m intersection of strong to intense hematite and copper mineralisation.

Bluebird is located within the Company’s 100% owned Barkly Project, 45km east of Tennant Creek township in the Northern Territory, and at the eastern edge of the Tennant Creek Copper-Gold Mineral Field (see location, Figure 3).

This 55m intensely copper mineralised intersection was returned from diamond hole BBDD0012, which was drilled to test the targeted shallow westerly-plunging mineralised zone at Bluebird approximately 20m to the west and deeper (down plunge) than the previous thick and high-grade drill hit in BBDD00091, which intersected:

• 50m @ 2.70% Cu, 0.52 g/t Au, 29.8 g/t Ag1 from 158m (down hole)

-          including 24m @ 5.01% Cu, 1.01 g/t Au, 61.7 g/t Ag from 159m,

-          including   5m @ 7.28% Cu, 1.29 g/t Au, 291 g/t Ag from 165m and

-          including  4.3m @ 14.7% Cu, 3.10 g/t Au from 176.6m.

BBDD0012, intersected the hanging wall alteration zone of chlorite and patchy-to-pervasive hematite alteration from 135m down hole. It then intersected the zone of intense hematite alteration with malachite (copper-carbonate), blebs of native copper and chalcocite from 155m and continued in this zone of intense mineralisation for 55m to 210m down hole (see cross section 448,360mE, Figure 1).  Further hematite-jasper (quartz) alteration continues to approximately 219m down hole (84m of hematite alteration), and the drillhole was terminated at 229m (see Appendix 1 for description of mineralisation).

The intersection of 84m of alteration in BBDD0012, including the 55m zone of intense hematite and copper mineralisation, indicates the Bluebird mineralisation is thickening and becoming more intense with depth, down-plunge to the west (see longitudinal projection, Figure 2).  The previous intersection on this section in BBDD0010 (35.5m @ 2.58% Cu and 0.27 g/t Au from 194m, including 18m @ 4.74% Cu and 0.50 g/t Au from 197m2), tested beneath the thickest part of the plunging shoot intersected by BBDD0012.

Significantly, a previous reverse circulation hole drilled on this section (BBRC019) was abandoned in 3.9 g/t Au, 4.8% Cu at end of hole after intersecting 15m @ 3.46% Cu, 0.61g/t Au from 172m3.

Drilling of the next diamond hole in the current program, BBDD0013, is in progress, testing a further 20m to the west and down plunge from BBDD0012.  This hole is also targeting the centre of the intensely-mineralised Bluebird zone (see Figure 2). 

Figure 1: Cross-section 448,360mE with new BBDD0012 intersection and previous BBDD0010 drill-hit

The New Diamond Drilling Program:  

Drilling to date at Bluebird has only tested the mineralisation from 100m to just over 200m vertical depth, and over a 150m strike length (see Figure 2).  The deposit remains open to the west, as well as both up and down dip.

The previous late 2021 drilling program, consisting of five diamond drillholes, was the first program to test the entire thickness of the mineralised zone and included the 50.0m @ 2.70% Cu, 0.52 g/t Au, 29.8 g/t Ag from 158m intersected by BBDD00091.  A further two diamond drillholes, BBDD0010 and BDD0011, were drilled to the west and down plunge of BBDD0009 and produced significant but slightly narrower copper-gold intersections, interpreted to be beneath the thickest part of the plunging copper-gold zone (see longitudinal projection, Figure 2 and cross sections, Figures 5 and 6).

Figure 2: Bluebird longitudinal projection with previous high-grade copper-gold hits and BBDD0012 intersection

The current program at Bluebird (see drilling rig in action, Photo 1 below), is designed to scope out and expand the footprint of the high-grade copper-gold mineralisation in two stages, totalling up to 4,500m of diamond drilling (see proposed pierce points on longitudinal projection, Figure 2) comprising:

i)                    The Stage 1 diamond drilling program of 6 holes for up to 1,500m4 targeting the central thickest part of the shallow, westerly plunging copper-gold shoot - immediately down plunge from the previously reported thick and high-grade intersections1,2, and,

ii)                   a Stage 2 diamond drilling program of 10 step-out holes for up to 3,000m4 designed to significantly expand the footprint of the Bluebird discovery to over 300m strike length and 300m vertical depth (see longitudinal projection, Figure 2).

The current drilling program is designed to expand the scoped dimensions of the deposit to a scale that is similar to other major copper-gold deposits in the Tennant Creek Mineral Field.  These include the Peko deposit, located 20km to the west of Bluebird, which produced 147,000 tonnes of copper grading 4% Cu and 414,000oz of gold at 10 g/t Au between 1934 and 19815 (see Figure 3).

Photo 1: Diamond drilling rig on the BBDD0012 site at the Bluebird Copper-Gold discovery

ABOUT THE BARKLY PROJECT AND THE BLUEBIRD COPPER-GOLD DISCOVERY

The Bluebird discovery is within the Company’s 100%-owned Barkly Copper-Gold Project, located approximately 45km east of Tennant Creek, and comprising two Exploration Licences: EL 28620 (Barkly Prospect) and EL 30701 (Babbler Prospect) (Figure 3).

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

Table 1: Drilling details, current program to date:

REFERENCES

1 08 March 2022. Tennant Minerals (ASX. TMS): “Spectacular 50m @ 2.70% copper intersection at Bluebird”.

2 15 March 2022. Tennant Minerals (ASX. TMS): “More Exceptional Copper Intersections from Bluebird”.

3 24 September 2019. Blina Minerals (ASX: BDI): “Strategic Acquisition of High-Grade Gold-Copper Project”.

4 24 March 2022. Tennant Minerals (ASX. TMS): “Exploration Fast-Tracked at Bluebird Copper-Gold Discovery”.

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

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

7 18 March 2020. Blina Minerals (ASX: BDI): “High-Grade Copper and Gold Intersected in Drilling program at Bluebird”.

8 09 December 2014. Blaze International Ltd (ASX: BLZ): “High Grade Copper Sulphide Intersection at Bluebird”.

***ENDS***

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

For further information please contact:

Matthew Driscoll

Non-Executive Chairman

M: +61 417 041 725

Stuart Usher

Company Secretary

M: +61 499 900 044