Australian battery metals technology and exploration company, Trans Pacific Energy Group Ltd (TPE), has announced a maiden discovery of a blind Zinc-Gold-Silver mineralised system at its Kathleen Valley project.
Located 40 kilometres north of Leinster in Western Australia, Kathleen Valley is situated within a highly prospective region for copper, nickel, zinc, lithium and tantalum and lies in the middle of one of the world’s most prolific metals and minerals belts, conservatively worth US$100 billion.
The project is held under option as part of a 50/50 partnership with Metal Rocks Ltd, with TPE holding an option to secure an additional 30 per cent interest in the project.
TPE revealed the assay results which were received from ALS Laboratory in Perth for the recently completed Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling which intersected a broad altered shear zone containing massive, semi-massive and disseminated sulphides.
Below are the maximum grades at Kathleen Valley which were confirmed within the broader zones, suggesting a potentially large mineralised Zinc-Gold-Silver deposit (a shear modified VMS style system).
Maximum Results (1 metre RC chip samples):
- 8.82 per cent Zinc
- 4.04 grams per tonne Gold
- 20.7 grams per tonne Silver
- 0.20 per cent Copper
- 0.46 per cent Lead
TPE Advisory Board Member and Lead Geologist, Neil Hutchison, commented that the significance of this discovery should not be underestimated – it could be the tip of something big.
“Our geological and geophysical teams are extremely positive about the drilling results, as well as the Down Hole Transient Electro-Magnetic results which support the potential for a much larger scaled system that has strike and depth potential,” he detailed.
Mr Hutchison further said that it is open in all directions and has considerable width to it, so the company is confident that it is not a small system.
“Mineralisation to date has been intersected at a depth of 60-100 metres below surface, which is very shallow given the deep nature (greater than 400 metres) of other mines in the region. It has the potential to develop into a much deeper system as drilling unlocks the geological and structural controls on this mineralised system.”
TPE CEO, Arthur Darivas, added that the discovery of zinc and copper at Kathleen Valley indicated the project’s scale was likely to be much larger than originally anticipated.
“This is a major find, in the right location, and with the right findings. We are extremely excited and look forward to continuing this momentum as we continue to develop our projects.”
Chip trays from RC drilling, image courtesy of Trans Pacific Energy Group Ltd.
