Arunta Induced Polarisation Project Geophysics & Drilling Collaborations Program Round 17

Abstract

Eastern Metals Limited (Eastern Metals) holds substantial tenure in the prospective Barrow Creek region in the Northern Territory (NT), including several tenements composing the Arunta Project. Historical exploration in this region has primarily focused on base and precious metals near the Home of Bullion (HOB) deposit, which is a high-grade, structurally controlled copper-lead-zinc (plus-minus silver-gold) siliciclastic-mafic volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposit discovered in 1923; underground mining historical production until 1951 was approximately 1,000 tonnes of copper. Supported by the Northern Territory Geological Survey (NTGS) Geophysics and Drilling Collaborations Co-funding Grants (Round 15) in 2023, EMS conducted drilling to update the 2014 Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) for HOB, increasing the total of 2.5 Mt to 3.1 Mt at 1.7% Cu, 2.0% Zn, 35 g/t Ag, 1.1% Pb, 0.17 g/t Au and 0.02% Co. However, these results represent only two sheared bedding-parallel sulphide lodes in structures over relatively small areas (~300 m x 200 m). The Bullion Schist rocks occur along a ~10 km northwest structural trend observed from the HOB to the Mulbangas copper prospect, highlighting potential for additional targets to further increase the HOB resources and confidence. EMS sought co-funding to identify and validate other prospective lodes along strike and dip beyond the HOB area, using two induced polarisation (IP) methods such as gradient array IP (GAIP) and pole-dipole IP (PDIP), in a 200m line spacing survey across ~10 km. The IP survey was supported by a co-funding grant of up to $100,000 which was awarded to Eastern Metals in Round 17 of the NT Geophysics and Drilling Collaborations Program (GDCP), part of the NT Government's 'Resourcing the Territory' initiative. The IP survey was completed across EL 23186 from 13 September 2024 to 9 October 2024 by Fender Geophysics. The survey was designed along strike from the HOB deposit to be consistent with the orientation of the Bullion Schist host rock and the structural framework of the known areas of mineralisation. Results from the completed IP survey within EL 23186 have outlined three new geophysical anomalies located directly along strike to the north-west and south-east of the HOB deposit.