Emmerson Resources Limited announced that Assay results from Phase 2 diamond and reverse circulation (RC) drilling support the emerging Hermitage copper-gold discovery
at Emmerson's 100%-owned project area at Tennant Creek. Hermitage is one of a cluster of 100% Emmerson owned prospects where the application of new exploration technologies
are unlocking new discoveries. This Phase 2 drill program not only builds on the previous high-grade results but also expands the potential down plunge beneath the fault where copper has been intersected outside of the ironstones. A hall mark of the Tennant Creek ore bodies is the correlation of elevated metal grades with magnetite-hematite ironstones, thus future drilling will focus on pinpointing continuation of the central ironstone beneath the fault. The preliminary geological model at Hermitage consists of tabular to pipelike breccias within ironstones that plunge steeply to the north and continue below the post mineral fault. Whilst the dimensions have yet to be fully ascertained as new zones of ironstone
continue to be intersected, the horizontal footprint is on scale with many of the major Tennant Creek orebodies. The metal zonation within the central brecciated pipe suggests the grades of copper, gold and bismuth are increasing with depth. Historically the Tennant Creek Mineral Field (TCMF) has a record of producing high grade bismuth however it is only recently that this metal has been recognised as a battery metal with green credentials. China refines about 90% of the world's bismuth and is the world's largest consumer. Bismuth is classified as a critical metal on the British Geological Survey and Geoscience Australia register and is considered a "green "substitute for lead. New uses for bismuth include superconductors, display screens, lithium iron batteries, permanent magnets, the nuclear power industry, Maglev trains and 3D printing. Prior to Emmerson, the Hermitage project has not seen any systematic modern exploration with the last campaign ending in the 1990s. The project consists of a cluster of 100% Emmerson owned prospects that include North Star, Jasper Hills, Katherine Star and Northern Star in Mining Lease (ML) 30177 along with Edna Beryl, Thrace, and Macedon in ML705. These prospects occur within a broad gravity corridor that consist of denser, hematitic shales and jasper which host high-grade copper, gold, and cobalt mineralisation within magnetite-hematite ironstones. From previous seismic surveys, this gravity corridor likely corresponds to a deep (+10km), north verging thrust fault ­ a similar structural setting to the other large deposits in the TCMF. The Phase 2 drilling results have greatly enhanced the ranking and potential for economic gold, copper, cobalt, and bismuth mineralisation across the Northern Project Area, particularly within this northern gravity ridge. A high-resolution drone aeromagnetic survey is currently underway over the NPA and is anticipated that the results will assist in pinpointing further such styles of high-grade copper-gold-cobalt and bismuth mineralisation.