Emmerson Resources Limited announced that Hermitage is one of a cluster of prospects that occurs within the northern corridor at Tennant Creek on 100% Emmerson owned tenements. The Hermitage, North Star, Jasper Hills, Katherine Star and Northern Star prospects are located in mining lease (ML) 30177 and the Edna Beryl, Thrace and Macedon prospects are located in ML 705. These prospects occur along the northern gravity corridor, within denser, hematitic shales, jasper, and ironstones which are the typical host to the high-grade mineralization.

This area has seen little modern exploration and some areas have restricted access. Discovery RC drill hole HERC003 (the Phase 1 drill program) intersected 116m at 3.4% copper and 0.88g/t gold. Follow up Phase 2 diamond drilling has extended this discovery hole a further 0.5m, intersecting massive hematite- magnetite ironstone with blebs of chalcopyrite (up to 2% of volume) before encountering broken ground likely associated with a late fault (ASX: 10 May 2022).

This hole was eventually abandoned due to drilling difficulties. Drill hole HERCDD005 (Phase 2 program) intersected a previously unknown ironstone that contains a 38m interval of mineralization consisting of malachite, native copper, and chalcopyrite ± bornite(?) (ASX: 10 May 2022). This mineralization occurs 38m down the drill hole and has been dispatched for assay with expected results in July 2022.

The most recent diamond drill hole HERCDD010 was an angled (-73 degree) scissor hole designed to test beneath the post mineral fault that was encountered in HERC003 and HERCDD005. Significantly, it has revealed that the upper copper zone grades to disseminated gold hosted in massive and brecciated hematite-magnetite-quartz before encountering the fault/shear zone from 171m to 180m (down the drill hole). Beneath the fault, this is followed by an 11m wide zone of quartz-dolomite-hematite hydrothermal breccia that hosts chalcopyrite as both blebs and matrix fill (up to 2% volume).

Then a new style of mineralization consisting of stockwork, chalcopyrite-bornite quartz veins (up to 2% volume) and fractures that gradually grade out to minor blebs/specks of chalcopyrite at 222m (down the hole). All visual volume percentage estimates are approximate only and accurate values will be reported once assay results are returned from the laboratory. First assay results from Hermitage are expected in July 2022.

Other drill holes now completed in phase 2 drilling include: HERCDD006 which intersected hematite-jasper-quartz ironstone from 127m to 184m (downhole) with visible malachite and native copper in the oxide zone and chalcopyrite blebs/stringers at depth; HERC008 intersected ironstone from 53 to 103m (down the hole) with visible malachite grading to chalcopyrite; HERC009 intersected the main ironstone at 96m and traversed vuggy hematite and jasper-hematite with malachite blebs until the hole was terminated due to drilling difficulties at 137m; HERC011 intersected the main ironstone from 70m to 131m (down the hole) with malachite blebs from 70m-75m; and HERC012 intersected the main ironstone from 88m to 137m with visible disseminated blebs of malachite and chalcopyrite indicating the mineralization and ironstone is still open to the east. The faults encountered in this drilling are common across the Tennant Creek Mineral Field and are likely post mineral thrust faults as seen at the nearby North Star and Jasper Hills projects. Typically, they have relatively small displacements and the ironstones and mineralization continue at depth, which has now been confirmed in drill hole HERCDD010.

The mineralization encountered to date is hosted in multiple, east-west striking, structurally controlled, ironstone (hematite-magnetite) bodies that are steeply north plunging and remain open in all directions. Their tabular to pipelike geometry constrains their surface (horizontal) footprint, with the grades and likely plunge extent the subject of the pending assay results and further drilling. Noting that some of the major historical deposits in the Tennant Creek Mineral Field had similar surface/plan dimensions as Hermitage, with the largest being Warrego (1.5moz gold and 173,000t copper) where the host ironstone had dimensions in plan view of approximately 200m by 50m, and a plunge of +600m.