Tempest Minerals (ASX:TEM) has withdrawn from the Elephant Project joint venture in Western Australia, after conducting a comprehensive strategic review.
The review recommended a more focused approach on Tempest’s existing projects in Western Australia, including a recent discovery of gold via drilling at the Range Project, as well as prioritising the completion of due diligence on the New Zealand projects.
In March 2026, the company entered into a binding agreement to acquire Zealandia Resources, which owns four gold projects in the North Island of New Zealand.
Under the deal, Tempest will pay $2 million in shares and $2 million in performance shares through four milestone payments over a five-year term.
Located within the Taupō Volcanic Zone and Hauraki Goldfields, the four projects are named Hossack, Matahana, Ohakuri, and Puriri.
The Taupō Volcanic Zone is home to several epithermal gold systems, considered prospective for gold exploration, while the Hauraki Goldfields has a history of ‘high-grade’ epithermal gold-silver mining, with production exceeding 15 million ounces of gold.
The Elephant Project, covering 194km2, sits adjacent to a regional structural boundary between the Albany-Fraser and the Yilgarn, which is believed to be a source for mineralising fluids. The project area itself has strong magnetic anomalies and an 8km gold in-soil geochemical anomaly which could represent a large subsurface gold system.
Tempest Minerals is a mineral explorer focused on its diversified portfolio of assets in Western Australia. The company’s projects are considered prospective for precious, base, and energy metals.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Tempest Minerals
