Rumble’s Western Queen adds jewel to crown with maiden tungsten MRE

• Rumble Resources releases maiden tungsten mineral resource estimate
• Clocks in at 4.31Mt at 0.31% tungsten trioxide for 13.2kt WO3, including a high-grade zone of 1.44Mt at 0.51% WO3
• Tungsten mineralisation runs subparallel to 3.72Mt at 3.1g/t gold for 370,000oz, with mineralisation open along strike and at depth

Special Report: Rumble Resources has delivered a maiden tungsten resource at its Western Queen Project, confirming the site’s potential to become a significant critical minerals and gold operation.

The Western Queen tungsten mineral resource estimate comes in at 4.31Mt at 0.31% tungsten trioxide for 13,200t WO3, at a 0.1% cut off grade.

High-grade cores within the global MRE, which are continuous and open, total 1.44Mt at 0.51% WO3 for 7400kt WO3 at a 0.3% WO3 cut off.

Another added bonus for Rumble Resources (ASX:RTR) is that the tungsten mineralisation occurs as a series of skarn lodes running subparallel to the project’s high-grade gold resource of 3.72Mt at 3.1g/t gold for 370,000oz.

This mineralisation lies between the Western Queen Central and South open pits where Rumble is advancing towards gold mining. The tungsten mineralisation has so far been found to extend over 1.5km, which is still open along strike and at depth. It’s also within Rumble’s granted mining leases.

Preliminary metallurgical work suggests the tungsten-bearing material could generate a substantial secondary revenue stream, complementing Western Queen’s near-term gold production potential.

Rumble’s MD & CEO Peter Harold said the result illustrated Western Queen’s dual-commodity upside.

“This is a fantastic outcome. To have reported a maiden tungsten resource of over 13,000 tonnes of tungsten trioxide demonstrates that Western Queen is more than just a high-grade gold project that we recently upgraded to 370,000 ounces,” he said.

“Given the potential to grow the tungsten resources, we could be sitting on a major tungsten project at Western Queen in addition to the near-term high-grade gold production we are progressing.

“I would like to congratulate the geological team for their vision and diligence in identifying and completing this maiden resource in under 12 months from first identifying the mineralisation, at a time when tungsten is such a sort after mineral given its strategic importance.” 

Tungsten is facing escalating demand due to its unique properties such as a high melting point, hardness, and density, which make it vital in the aerospace, defence and electronics industries. China currently produces more than 85% of the world’s primary tungsten and there is a strong push to reduce reliance on the Middle Kingdom.

Harold added: “We look forward to seeing the tungsten resources grow at Western Queen and the results of the metallurgical testwork as we work to understand the quantum of revenue that could potentially be generated by exploiting these new tungsten resources.”

Next steps to polymetallic production

In a significant stroke of good fortune – or skilled observation – Rumble’s tungsten discovery came from historic gold-focused drilling. No tungsten-specific drilling has yet been conducted, but a reconnaissance field program is now well underway, opening the door for potential resource growth.

The team has now mapped up to 18 tungsten lodes and identified multiple high-priority targets across a 5km x 2.5km corridor prospective for skarn-style mineralisation, with fieldwork being undertaken.

A bulk sample of tungsten bearing scheelite-bearing material is being prepared for further independent metallurgical testing by Mineral Technologies to develop recovery curves and determine potential tungsten revenue.

RTR is also continuing to progress the multi-commodity potential of its world-class zinc-lead-silver Earaheedy 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.