The Tennant Creek Copper Alliance, formed between CuFe (ASX:CUF), Emmerson Resources (ASX:ERM), and Tennant Minerals (ASX:TMS) has successfully been awarded $600,000 in grants from the Northern Territory and Federal Governments.
The grants are comprised of $300,000 from the Federal Government, under the Critical Minerals National Productivity Initiative, and $300,000 from the Northern Territory Government through the Department of Trade, Business, and Asian Relations. The grants will be matched by the Alliance member companies.
Funding will be used towards a Feasibility Study and the establishment of a multi-user critical minerals processing facility, enabling a strategic development pathway for each company’s current and future mineral resources.
The Feasibility Study is targeted for completion by June 2026 and will be assessing the optimal process plant configuration and costs, optimal site location, infrastructure needs, final products to be produced, environmental considerations, general logistics, and ownership and governance frameworks.
The results of this study will provide inputs into the feasibility assessments for each alliance member’s individual projects.
CuFe Executive Director Mark Hancock, Emmerson Managing Director Mike Dunbar, and Tennant Minerals General Manager Chris Ramsay put out a joint statement noting the strong progress on their respective projects that will feed into the proposed processing plant.
“CuFe has announced significant increases to its Gecko and Orlando Mineral Resources, Tennant Minerals has reported its maiden mineral resources for Bluebird, and Emmerson continues to deliver exciting drilling results from the Hermitage deposit.
“The approval of this grant funding to support the feasibility study on a multi-year critical and other valuable metals production facility represents a strong vote of confidence in the potential economic and social benefits that these projects could deliver to Tennant Creek and the broader Northern Territory.”
The strategic Tennant Creek Copper Alliance was formed between the three member companies to investigate the potential development of a single, multi-user processing facility for copper, gold, and other critical minerals from the Tennant Creek region of the Northern Territory.
Write to Amy Rotman at Mining.com.au
Images: CuFe
