Trek Metals (ASX:TKM) reports visual manganese mineralisation from six additional reverse circulation (RC) drill holes at the Kuro discovery in its Christmas Creek Project, Western Australia.
The company completed 21 RC holes, with eight targeting chargeability highs using induced polarisation (IP) surveying. All eight holes intersected significant visual manganese zones.
Key results from the additional holes include 11m of visual massive manganese (Mn) from 5m downhole within a broader 17m zone from 3m; and 10m of visual massive Mn and 6m of semi-massive Mn from 13m downhole within a broader 17m zone from 12m, plus 2m of visual semi-massive Mn from 30m.
Other significant intersections include 8m of visual massive Mn from 8m downhole within a broader 10m zone from 6m; and 3m of visual massive Mn and 3m of semi-massive Mn from surface.
CEO Derek Marshall says the correlation between IP chargeability anomalies and visual manganese intercepts represents a ‘pivotal’ moment for the company.
“Three weeks after collaring our first RC hole at Kuro targeted beneath high-grade manganese outcrop, we believe we have reached a pivotal turning point in our hunt for a world-class manganese discovery,” Marshall says.
“We now have proof that the manganese mineralisation we have logged in RC drill chips is closely associated with the IP chargeability features identified by the recent IP survey.
“We believe this is the key geophysical tool required to unlock this discovery hiding beneath the desert sands.”
According to Marshall, the recent drilling indicates the manganese mineralisation is likely hosted within younger Neoproterozoic basin rocks overlying Palaeoproterozoic basement.
This, he says, is consistent with the Woodie Woodie manganese district in the Pilbara region.
Trek has also identified a 16km-long prospective Neoproterozoic sub-basin extending largely west of the current drilling area, mostly under sand cover.
“There is plenty of search space here for a large discovery and the team is extremely excited that we believe we have unlocked the key to exploring for more manganese under cover at Kuro,” Marshall says.
Trek has remobilised the Moombarriga IP crew to conduct additional surveying over an expanded area immediately southeast, east, and west of current drilling.
The first batch of drill samples has been dispatched for lab analysis, with assay results expected in three to five weeks.
Meanwhile, the company intends to continue RC drilling to test and infill around current intersections while IP crews test adjacent areas.
Trek Metals is a mineral explorer targeting critical battery metals, gold, and uranium, with a focus on frontier locations within tier one mining jurisdictions in Australia.
Write to Paula Fabe at Mining.com.au
Images: Trek Metals
