Eureka! TNT strikes gold with maiden drill program

TNT Mines has nailed its first RC drill program at the Eureka gold project 50 kilometres north of Kalgoorlie after it hit 34 metres at 1.75 grams per tonne gold from 103m in the headline drill hole. The company has moved quickly to test the potential of the Eureka gold project after it reached an agreement to acquire 100 per cent of Warriedar Mining, the previous owner of the project back in October 2020.

To date, TNT has completed 65 of a planned 91 reverse circulation, or “RC” holes for a total of 7,480m drilled in a programme designed to test four separate target areas around the abandoned shallow open pit that was mined some years ago.

Whilst a hold-up at the labs has seen the company only receive assays from the first 26 holes, they haven’t disappointed.

Other notable results in addition to the 34m hit were 14m @ 2.09 g/t gold from 51m, including 4m @ 5.48g/t and 4m @ 6.56g/t from 74m, including 2m @ 11.8 g/t gold.

The shallowest mineralised hit in the maiden campaign to-date came from a 5m intersection grading 2.88 gold from 24m.

TNT Mines Chairman, Alex Hewlett said: “While early on in the programmes, with less than 30% of the entire programme’s assay results returned, so far we have been surprised with the width of mineralisation encountered south of the pit..”

“Both holes have meaningfully grown the footprint of the mineralisation at Eureka to the south and we hope to further drill test this zone as a result of these intervals. Additionally, the arrival of a more powerful RC drill rig late last week will enable testing for any high grade down dip potential of the Eureka gold system.”

The current Eureka drill program is scheduled to be completed in late February 2021, with final design meterage estimated to reach 11,400m, an increase of 1,200m on the initial design.

The RC program is targeting drill extents of the known mineralisation trending north and south from the existing pit, the northern laterite area and down dip projection of the Eureka pit resource area.

The initial drill campaign is also assessing historic workings and previously drilled high-grade results intersected 600m to the north of the old pit area. A follow-up, deeper RC drilling program is planned to test the potential extensions of high-grade mineralisation down dip beneath the existing pit.

TNT recently mobilised a larger capacity rig to site late last week to commence drilling the deeper targets under the Eureka pit and on the southern down-dip extensions below the mineralisation intersected in the campaign so far.

That includes the 14m, 2.09g/t intersection that has significantly extended the known boundary of the mineralisation greater than 100m beyond the south end of the current open pit.

Additional drilling has been designed to further test this area which remains open to the south and down dip of this interval.

Eureka, which is under granted mining leases, contains a JORC2012 Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resource of 43,100 ounces of contained gold and has a history of gold production.

The strategy of ASX-listed companies going back into old historical workings and proving up near mine riches that were previously overlooked is playing out well for a number of companies.

Spectrum Metals probably did it best when it went back into the old Penny West historical mining area and discovered Penny North before off-loading the whole thing for hundreds of millions of dollars to Ramelius Resources.

Curiously Hewlett, a Geologist, was one of the prime movers behind the Spectrum/Ramelius play and his track record demonstrates he is no slouch when it comes to identifying out wide mineral opportunities.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au