The Elizabeth project is close to the historical Blackdome project yet relatively underexplored. Pic: via Getty Images.
70koz, with more to come: High-grade gold resource highlights underground potential at Tempus’ Canadian project
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- Tempus Resources releases resource estimate of 317,200 tonnes at 5.97g/t gold for 60,900oz at Elizabeth gold project in Canada
- The project is near the historic Blackdome operation which includes plant and tailings facilities
- Company management says the resource demonstrates a underground mining operation
Tempus Resources has released the resource estimate for its Elizabeth gold project in Canada of 317,200t at 5.97g/t gold for 60,900oz.
The company’s flagship combined Blackdome-Elizabeth project is a high-grade, past producing gold operation in Southern British Columbia.
The Blackdome mine, which produced ~230,000oz at 10.5g/t gold between 1985-1991, includes a fully permitted process plant and associated tailings storage facility.
Elizabeth, ~30km away, is relatively underexplored.
The company has now released the resource estimate across five main vein groups at Elizabeth based on a total of 237 diamond drill holes (41,006m), 7,904 drill core assays, 345 underground rock samples, 240 bulk density measurements, and preliminary metallurgical test work.
A total of 63% of the resource gold ounces are in the higher confidence indicated classification (60,900oz).
Indicated resources are mineral occurrences that have been sampled and their contained metal, grade, and tonnage has been estimated at a reasonable level of confidence.
In comparison, an inferred resource is when limited sampling has occurred and the grade can be reasonably assumed – but has not yet been verified.
Economic underground extraction on the cards
The Southwest Vein group contains 67% of the total resource tonnes at 253,100t at 6.63 g/t for 54,000oz of gold indicated, plus 172,100t at 4.21 g/t for 23,300oz of gold inferred.
Plus, the average gold grade of the indicated resource is four times higher than the cut-off grade of 1.5 g/t – which the company says demonstrates the excellent potential for future economic extraction via underground mining.
“The updated MRE highlights the potential for the Elizabeth project with over 63% of resource gold ounces being in the indicated category across five key vein groups that remain open at depth and along strike,” Tempus Resources (ASX:TMR) president and CEO Jason Bahnsen said.
“Opportunities for expansion of the resource are excellent with fourteen separate veins identified within the Elizabeth Main area with the potential for additional mineralised vein sets at the Elizabeth East and Elizabeth Northwest zones.”
Lithium projects also in play
Gold isn’t the only string in the company’s bow, with TMR executing a binding heads of agreement in September for the option to acquire 100% ownership of Aurora Lithium – which holds the Cormorant pegmatite field and the White Rabbit lithium prospect in Manitoba.
The projects are in the newly emerging lithium district along the 250x75km wide Flin Flon – Snow Lake greenstone belt, which has attracted other juniors like Leeuwin Metals (ASX:LM1) with its JenPeg/Cross Lake project, 40km from White Rabbit.
TMR plans to explore the projects concurrently with the Elizabeth-Blackdome gold project.
This article was developed in collaboration with Tempus, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.
This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.
