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Rumble Resources on a huge tungsten roll
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- Tungsten assays from drill pulp samples at Rumble Resources’ Western Queen gold project have confirmed a potentially significant high-grade tungsten discovery
- These new assays are largely coincident with a continuous tungsten anomaly outlined over a 2km area defined from drillhole XRF data and are parallel to the Western Queen Shear and known high-grade gold mineralisation
- Rumble now plans to further analyse historical drilling including RC drill pulps and a substantial diamond core library for tungsten as part of its goal to classify an initial resource estimate
Special Report: Junior explorer Rumble Resources confirms significant discovery of tungsten at the Western Queen gold project in WA.
Assay results from Rumble Resources’ 163koz Western Queen gold project have confirmed a significant discovery of tungsten, adding the critical mineral to the company’s extensive polymetallic portfolio.
The drill pulp samples assays from seven holes Rumble Resources (ASX:RTR) drilled back in 2021 complement the exceptionally high-grade tungsten intersection announced last month.
The widths and grades of the significant tungsten assays from Western Queen suggest the project could host a large-scale resource of the metal. The new assays are mainly coincident with a continuous tungsten anomaly outlined over a 2km area, which has been defined from drillhole XRF data. The area is also parallel with the Western Queen Shear with its known high-grade gold mineralisation.
Intersections include 12m at 0.56% tungsten oxide and 0.46 grams per tonne (g/t) of gold from only 69m, including 2m at 2.48% tungsten oxide and 0.12g/t gold from 70m, and 12m at 0.34% tungsten oxide and 3.22g/t gold from 202m.
Highlights from another drill hole reported less than a month ago (WQDD013) were 4.05m at 4.58% tungsten oxide and 0.72 g/t gold from 174.85m, including 2.05m at 8.71% tungsten oxide and 1.38g/t gold from 176.85m, and 0.65m at 18.35% tungsten oxide and 2.97 g/t Au from 176.85m.
A subsequent review of Rumble’s pXRF data has shown that 87 reverse circulation (RC) and diamond drill (DD) holes yield at least 500ppm tungsten.
Rumble now plans to further analyse historical drilling, including RC drill pulps and a substantial diamond core library held in storage. This is expected to make up the bulk of the data required to classify what Rumble hopes to be an initial resource estimate for the metal.
Tungsten has critical and strategic importance given its relative scarcity, supply risk, defence applications and limited substitution options.
Western Queen already hosts a current mineral resource of 2.1Mt at 2.42g/t gold for 163koz, and remains completely open down plunge and along strike.
Managing director and CEO Peter Harold said: “The discovery of tungsten at Western Queen has demonstrated the huge optionality that we have in our extensive tenement portfolio. The assay results from the 2021 drill pulp samples have confirmed that we have made a significant tungsten discovery at Western Queen.
“This is brilliant work by our exploration team and we look forward to receiving further assays from the substantial amount of existing drill core and pulps.
“Best case scenario, positive results from this future analysis could allow us to calculate a resource without any additional drilling.
“Whilst the tungsten is a great new discovery, we already have substantial gold resources at Western Queen on a granted Mining Leases within trucking distance of a number of mills.
“Our primary focus is therefore to monetise these resources in the near term.”
Growing gold resource
The tungsten discovery is an unexpected bonus for Rumble, which is working to confirm potential of the newly recognised high-grade parallel lode below Western Queen South’s gold deposit.
The company is currently updating the Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) at closer to the current spot price of A$3,700/oz. The last MRE was done in in 2021 using A$2,700oz gold price which is now almost 40% below the current spot. The company is also planning to test other potential high-grade shoots along the currently defined 2.7km mineralised zone within its mining leases.
Western Queen’s deposits are associated with a major geological zone similar to Spartan Resources’ (ASX:SPR) Never Never lode, which has a resource of 5.16Mt at 5.74 g/t gold (953,000oz).
In the Yalgoo mineral field close to Mt Magnet, the project is conveniently within a 100km radius of three gold-processing mills.
World-class zinc potential
Meanwhile at the Earaheedy project – one of the world’s largest zinc sulphide discoveries in the past decade – Rumble is continuing metallurgical test work and once completed will move into an internal scoping study.
Metallurgical test work completed previously on Earaheedy material returned high recoveries and confirmed marketable concentrate grades.
The project in WA’s Goldfields has an existing resource of 94Mt with contained metal of 2.2Mt of zinc, 0.7Mt lead and 12.6Moz silver, as well as potential to be a low unit cost, open-pit mining and processing project.
This article was developed in collaboration with Rumble Resources, 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.
