Tempest Minerals Ltd (ASX:TEM) is acquiring a large-scale gold exploration target, the Elephant Project, on the periphery of the Albany Fraser Belt, adding to the company’s diversified portfolio of Western Australian precious, base and energy metals projects.
Elephant Project in the much-talked-about Fraser Range comprises highly prospective exploration leases with large exploration-ready geophysical and geochemical targets.
This project was pegged primarily due to a strong geophysical anomaly and coincident geochemical data from nearby previous exploration.
Similar to others
The large scale and nature of the anomaly bear similarities to other world-class deposits in the region such as Tropicana at which the peak soil value was 31 parts per billion (ppb) with 0-15 metres of cover while the Elephant Target (NYSE:TGT) is 5-10pbb with 100-150 metres of cover.
Tempest will make an initial payment to acquire 80% of Lusture Pty Ltd, the project owner, and will agree to incur exploration expenditure to maintain its interest.
The 194-square-kilometre project, comprising 135 square kilometres of granted exploration leases and 59 square kilometres under lease application, sits on the edge of a geological block (the suture between the Yilgarn and Albany-Fraser).
This is a favourable location for major discoveries, with multiple world-class deposits hosted in similar environments along this trend.
A major exploration destination
Interest in the Fraser Range kicked off with the discovery of the multi-million ounce Tropicana Gold Mine almost 20 years ago (now AngloAshanti/Regis), followed by the discovery of the nickel-copper-cobalt Nova Bollinger Deposit by Sirius Resources (now IGO Ltd) in 2012.
New geological work since then has resulted in new exploration target models for explorers and has attracted major industry players to the region, which is now a major exploration destination in Western Australia.
This prevalent exploration footprint now highlights the opportunity for more potential discoveries in the province in multiple commodities, including gold.
Tempest notes that the Elephant Project’s anomaly footprint is comparable to other world-class deposits in the region.
The next steps for Tempest include completion of conditions precedent, completion of the share purchase agreement which is expected late in the third quarter and commencement of exploration activities.