Emmerson Resources higher on striking high-grade near-surface gold at Blake Snake in Tennant Creek JV

Emmerson Resources Limited (ASX:ERM) (FRA:42E) is trading higher after delivering new high-grade gold results from drilling at Black Snake prospects within the Tennant Creek joint venture in the Northern Territory. Results include: 8 metres at 15 g/t gold from 16 metres including 4 metres at 24.4 g/t; 9 metres at 7.96 g/t from 6 metres including 1-metre at 54 g/t; 6 metres at 7 g/t from 18 metres including 3 metres at 12.6 g/t; and 15 metres at 6.77 g/t from 4 metres including 9 metres at 10.4 g/t. Other new high-grade gold intercepts from the Susan prospect indicate extensions of the gold-bearing oxide zone and include 5 metres at 3.93 g/t from 49 metres. Emmerson and JV partner Tennant Consolidated Mining Group (TCMG) are forging ahead with establishing a large central CIP mill and preparations for mining. Shares have jumped almost 22.6% intra-day to 8.7 cents. Extending high-grade mineralisation Emmerson managing director Rob Bills said: “These latest results continue to advance our two-fold strategy of adding value through discoveries and extensions to known high-grade gold mineralisation plus build the pipeline of small mines, where Emmerson receives a low-risk, free carry 6% production royalty stream. “JORC mineral resources are currently being estimated at our Chariot and Mauretania projects, and based on these results, will now be extended to Black Snake. “Once complete, this will provide a partial ‘see through valuation’ of this portion of Emmerson’s emerging portfolio of royalty streams. “The results from Susan have expanded the high-grade gold envelope and further drilling will be undertaken to test for extensions and repeats of the ironstone within this structural corridor.” Map of the Emmerson Tennant Creek tenements and TCMG JV area. Yellow labels indicate future potential small mines that are at various stages of exploration or mining studies. Historic Susan project The historic Susan Mine is within Emmerson’s southern project area (SPA) and produced around 90,000 ounces at 23.5 g/t gold in 1959-1960, from shallow underground workings via a single shaft down to 42 metres below surface. The new results reflect previously unassayed RC samples from drilling completed by former joint venture partner Territory Resources, with previously released assay results from the same drill program at Susan (2019) including: 11 metres at 48 g/t from 26 metres including 9 metres at 58.5 g/t and 1 metre at 246 g/t; and 8 metres at 16 g/t from 22 metres including, 6 metres at 20.4 g/t including 2 metres at 26 g/t and 1 metre at 41 g/t. At the mine scale, the geophysical (magnetic) anomalies are more extensive than the known high-grade gold mineralisation, opening up the possibility of further extensions along strike from these recent drill results. Black Snake shows potential Black Snake has advanced to scoping level studies with permitting well advanced. Given its proximity to Golden Kangaroo East and the Three Thirty gold prospects, mining synergies from potential multiple ore sources will now need to be factored into this scoping study. The Black Snake mineralisation occurs within an ESE, sub-vertical shear zone, with gold occurring 30 metres below the surface, with widths of up to 8 metres and open in all directions. The mineralisation consists of quartz-hematite stringers within a hematite shale sequence and is atypical of the Tennant Creek Mineral Field (TCMF), ironstone hosted gold mineralisation. This style of mineralisation remains largely untested in the TCMF and will be the subject of ongoing studies. Next steps Emmerson and TCMG are planning an increasingly drill intensive program over the five-year earn-in period. Projects currently underway include: Drilling (now underway) at Mauretania to test for extensions and pre-mining geotechnical drill holes; Drilling at West Gibbet – to follow up the historical intersection of 13 metres at 66.9 g/t from 74 metres;   Ultra high-resolution drone magnetic survey underway - to pinpoint new ironstones (the typical host to high-grade gold mineralisation in the field); JORC resource estimates at Chariot, Mauretania and now Black Snake projects; and Feasibility studies by TCMG on establishing the central mill in Tennant Creek in 2022. Outside of this, Emmerson has retained 100% ownership of the historic Jasper Hills, high-grade copper-gold and cobalt project and is working with its Traditional Owner, Joint Venture partner to unlock this for exploration.