TNT gets boots on the ground at Eureka

ASX-listed gold explorer, TNT Mines, has wasted no time in getting the drill rods turning at its newly acquired historic Eureka gold project about 50km north of Kalgoorlie. Vendor and private outfit, Warriedar Mining, is doing the drilling honours while TNT cools its heels awaiting formal approval of the purchase from shareholders next week.

Perth-based TNT announced last month it had entered into a binding shares-and-options agreement to acquire all of Warriedar’s shares for a total consideration worth approximately $6 million.

The transaction comes with what TNT calls the “under-explored” brownfields Eureka and Warriedar gold projects in two well-endowed mining districts. It says they represent an opportunity for the rapid delineation of significant shallow gold resources and boast no shortage of walk-up drill targets.

As part of the deal, former chairman of Spectrum Metals, Alex Hewlett, and a former Spectrum director, James Croser, will join the TNT board as chairman and non-executive director, respectively.

Established WA gold producer, Ramelius Resources, pounced on Spectrum in a spectacular takeover cash-and-shares deal earlier this year following Spectrum’s bonanza-grade Penny North gold discovery at the historic Penny West project, 25km south of the Youanmi mining centre in WA.

Spectrum had estimated an indicated and inferred resource for Penny North of 569,000 tonnes of ore grading a gobsmacking 16.8 grams per tonne for 306,800 ounces of contained gold within an overall Penny West mineral resource estimate of 799,000 tonnes at 13.8 g/t for 355,000oz of contained gold.

Previous and historical drilling results led to an indicated and inferred mineral resource estimate for below the Eureka pit of 762,000 tonnes of ore going 1.8 g/t gold for 43,100 ounces of contained gold. According to TNT, there has been minimal exploration undertaken outside of the known open-cut mine area.

Warriedar has just kicked off a 10,200m RC program at Eureka that will be targeting down-dip, high-grade extensions to existing mineralisation beneath the old open pit as well as along-strike structures to the north and south of the pit.

Eureka, which is surrounded by a horde of operating gold processing plants and infrastructure, sits roughly 2km west of Bardoc Gold’s developing open-pit mining operations.

TNT’s Eureka tenement package includes 5.7km of the mineralised Bardoc Tectonic Zone that takes in a number of gold deposits.

Once the initial Eureka drilling campaign has concluded, TNT says it plans to carry out an RC and diamond drilling program of up to 5,000m at the Warriedar gold project, 50km north-west of the historic high-grade Paynes Find gold mine in WA’s Murchison region.

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