Tempest (ASX:TEM) riding high after latest assays reveal critical minerals at Meleya

Highlights

• Tempest Minerals has announced assay results from 6,346 metres of aircore and reverse circulation drilling at the Meleya Project.
• As per the initial review, TEM has received highly anomalous results for some critical metals, such as nickel, cobalt, tungsten, and rare earth elements (REEs).
• Total 91 holes were drilled for 7,410 metres during the campaign completed in late 2022.
• The remaining diamond drill program results are likely to be announced in Q1 2023.

Tempest Minerals Limited (ASX: TEM) has received highly anomalous results for several critical metals including nickel, cobalt, tungsten, and rare earth elements (REEs) from the drilling campaign that was concluded in late 2022 at its Meleya Project.

During the program, TEM completed 91 holes for 7,410 metres of drilling. As of now, the company has shared assay results from 6,346 metres of the drilling program. It is expecting to receive the remaining diamond drill program results in the first quarter of the ongoing year (Q1 2023).

Image and data source: Company website

Critical metals and the key intercepts

• Highly anomalous tungsten

WARDH83 was drilled through regolith to a depth of 40m and intercepted a potentially weathered skarn zone peripheral to an interpreted mafic sill with significant visible extent in aeromagnetic surveys. WARDH83 hosted the best intercept 3m @ 0.54% Tungsten TriOxide (WO3) and 0.07% Cobalt from 21m.

Although assays remain outstanding for the diamond hole in this area, visibly skarn-altered zones in WARDH75 highlight consistent enrichment in tungsten within the horizon. This alteration was traced along the sill contact to hole WARDH139 and spans an approximate contact length of 450m. 

Data source: Company update 

Mineralogical and hyperspectral work is in progress to analyse the anomalies and ways to target these horizons.

• Nickel

According to the company, WARDH156 located in an altered mafic to ultramafic volcanic is the most prominent nickel enriched zone 5m @ 0.11% Nickel and 0.09% Chromium. Additionally, Hole WARDH156 hosts enrichment in tungsten at 128.5ppm and lithium at 193ppm.

Assay results show ultramafic source with Magnesium Oxide averaging at 19.8% and Iron Oxide averaging at 11.6%. Tempest Minerals considers it to be an exciting development for the Meleya Project, as nickel bearing mafic to ultramafic geology has never been documented previously; however, geology of this type can be the ideal host for significant Ni deposits.

 
Image source: © Adwo | Megapixl.com, data source: Company update

• Copper-Zinc

The distribution of anomalous Cu-Zn mineralisation is primarily concentrated in structures propagating from the Clover line. Some anomalies seem to be stratiform or stratigraphically hosted and elevated values correlate between drill lines along strike of the interpreted boundaries of the main greenstone package first delineated by the initial Orion Diamond Holes WARDH072 and WARDH73.

As per initial work, it is reflected that these anomalies have volcanogenic massive sulphide or similar geochemical fingerprint to a mineral assemblage, in particular that of the Gossan Hill Deposit at Golden Grove.

This mode of mineralisation is one of the primary exploration targets of this drilling program and the anomalous Cu-Zn in this form is strong along the Clover drill line at the convergence of several regional scale fault and shear zones and later stage regional dolerite dykes.

Multiple holes in the ‘Clover Target’ drill section marked wide zones of highly anomalous base metals on the western and eastern margins. These grades are significantly elevated - up to 4 times the normal regional geological background values - and combined with the intense alteration suggest a wider mineralising system at play such as VMS or skarn.

This is in line with the geological theory underpinning the Meleya Belt and as originally hypothesised during the Orion Diamond program in early 2022 and is encouraging for further exploration.

Data source: Company update

Rare Earth Elements and Scandium:

Concentrations of rare earth elements in particular cerium, lanthanum and yttrium have been discovered in significant proportion at the base of regolith across several key structural contacts on the north-eastern and south eastern corners of the drill program.

Hyperspectral logging is being undertaken to understand the nature of their mineralisation. A strategy will be designed to follow up and determine controls to target.

Data source: Company update 

Path forward…

ASX-listed Tempest Minerals is focused on modelling all drilling results and multisensor hyperspectral data. The company is planning to conduct the process of review of drilling data for further potential drilling.

The assay results for diamond drilling are likely to be released during the first quarter of the ongoing year. Also, assays for Meleya east (Ktulu) surface sampling program are expected in February.

TEM shares gained over 8% to trade at AU$0.026 midday on 15 February 2023.