The White Devil deposit in the Tennant Creek Mineral Field has delivered strong gold results for Emmerson Resources, with the updated mineral resource estimate now totalling 4.71 million tonnes.
This estimate (MRE) is at a grade of 4.1 grams per tonne (g/t) gold (Au) for 616,200 ounces, including 549,100 ounces in the indicated category.
Open-pit resources within the scoping study put shell now stand at 2.7 million tonnes (Mt) at 4.7g/t Au for 404,000 ounces, with 98.4 per cent classified as indicated, providing a strong foundation for future development.
Emmerson’s managing director Mike Dunbar said that the company’s strategy is to prioritise opportunities where it can expand its high-grade resource base.
“While increasing confidence in the resources, this continues to pay dividends,” he said.
“The Tennant Creek project’s high-grade mineral resources have increased to 992,200 ounces. White Devil has clearly been a game changer for the company and our JV partner.
“In the space of 10 months, we have identified the opportunity at White Devil, drilled 90 RC holes, completed an initial MRE and two subsequent MRE updates, and completed a scoping study.”
Emmerson added that while the global resource increase is modest at 5000 ounces, the conversion of almost 19,000 ounces of shallow resource to indicated is a significant step forward.
“White Devil now contains 549,100 ounces in the Indicated resource category, which will underpin the current feasibility studies and allow a maiden probable ore reserve to be estimated as part of the studies,” Dunbar said.
Looking ahead, feasibility studies are underway to define the preferred development strategy, as mineralisation remains open down dip and along strike.
The Tennant Creek Resource base has grown to 7.0 Mt at 4.4g/t Au for 992,000 ounces, reinforcing Emmerson’s high-grade gold credentials in the region.
