TNT seeks foothold in Earaheedy Basin after Rumble discovery

ASX-listed explorer, TNT Mines is looking to secure a large footprint near a recent high-grade base metals discovery that was made in WA’s Earaheedy Basin about 110km north of Wiluna. The Perth-based company says it has lodged an exploration licence application for 930 square kilometres of tenure that it calls the Mount Lockeridge Fault project just north of Rumble Resources’ exciting Chinook zinc-lead discovery at its Earaheedy project.

Last week Rumble hailed Chinook as a “major” zinc-lead discovery following bumper RC drill intersections from two holes 500 metres apart.

The headline drill hits at Chinook are 34m grading an average 4.22 per cent zinc and lead combined from 66m and 21m going 4.31 per cent zinc and lead combined from 61m, with both containing higher-grade core zones.

According to Rumble, 26 out of the 26 RC holes totalling 2,653m recently drilled at Chinook intersected visible zinc-lead mineralisation.

Assay results for the remaining two dozen Chinook holes remain pending.

TNT says it will kick off a soil sampling program and a suite of geophysical surveys once the exploration licence application has been granted.

The licence area straddles the Mount Lockeridge fault and sections of the Frere and Chiall formations that host the Chinook discovery, according to TNT.

TNT Mines Chief Executive Officer, Matthew Boyes said: “The Mount Lockeridge Fault project gives TNT exposure to a large-scale landholding in what we consider to be a very prospective location.”

The company’s base metals play comes after a recently completed major first-pass RC drilling program at its recently acquired brownfields Eureka gold project about 50km north of Kalgoorlie in the Eastern Goldfields.

Based on prior drilling data, the project harbours an existing indicated and inferred resource beneath the old Eureka open pit of 762,000 tonnes of ore at an average grade of 1.8 grams per tonne gold for 43,100 ounces of contained gold.

TNT punched a further 89 holes into the near-mine area and surrounds for a total drilling coverage of 11,441m and the numbers did not disappoint.

Stand-out intersections from the latest set of Eureka assays are 4m at 10.99 g/t gold from 42m including 2m at 19.2 g/t from 43m, 1m at 14.72 g/t from 26m, 6m at 4.17 g/t from 52m and 2m at 6.13 g/t from 201m.

TNT has been buoyed by the 4m at 10.99 g/t and 6m at 4.17 g/t drill hits that came from a previously untested area north-east of the high-grade historical workings 600m north of the Eureka pit.

The new drill results from Eureka may point to mineralised shear extensions both along strike and at depth, according to the company.

Follow-up drilling has been earmarked for this area in the next program.

A revised mineral resource estimate for Eureka is now under way following the plethora of encouraging drill intercepts and the addition of the Mount Lockeridge Fault project will now give TNT some serious blue sky to go with the rapidly developing Eureka.

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