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Tartana Minerals Limited (ASX: TAT) (the Company), is pleased to advise that it has received assays and metallurgical testwork based on sampling the D15 metallurgical hole drilled in May this year. D15 hole was a diamond hole drilled at initially PQ size and decreasing to HQ size and drilled to 300 metres depth and was drilled parallel and below TRC098 which had previously intersected 77 m @ 0.62% Cu.
Highlights:
- Tartana D15 assays confirm broad zones of copper mineralisation including 76 m @ 0.60% Cu, 178 m @ 0.40% Cu or 221 m @ 0.35% Cu, all from 31 m depth downhole.
- Excellent copper recoveries (89%) to saleable copper concentrate when testing a sample that was below the resource grade average.
- Bulk Sample Tomra ore sorting results indicate that using this process will result in a 72% grade increase and recover 71% of the contained copper.
- Mineralisation trends indicates the presence of a higher grade zones (1 million tonnes @ 0.82% Cu) enabling the potential for a high grade starter pit with the remaining resource at 8.5 million tonnes @ 0.38 % Cu which can be upgraded if required.
- The results form part of a Scoping Study which will investigate options for third party processing and/or installation of a copper sulphide crushing, milling and flotation plant or a combination of both. This is separate from the current copper sulphate pentahydrate production which is ongoing.
The hole was successfully completed on 13th May 2024. The assay and metallurgical data have now been received and as discussed below, have returned positive results which can be incorporated into a Scoping Study which will also consider processing options. These options include third party processing and/or installation of a copper sulphide crushing, milling and flotation plant and which may be a combination of both.
Tartana Primary Copper Mineralisation
The Company has previously advised the presence of primary copper (chalcopyrite) mineralisation below the Tartana pit floor and in early 2023 reported 45,000 tonnes of contained copper resource to 130 m depth (see ASX release dated 9 February 2023). The details are outlined in Figure 1.
Figure 1. (a) Oxide, transitional and primary (fresh) resource estimation for the Tartana open pit using inverse distance estimation and a 0.2% Cu cutoff grade. (b) Primary copper mineralisation from drillhole D15.
The resource grade and tonnage for the total primary and transitional resources at different cut-off grades are presented in Figure 2.
Figure 2. Transition and primary resources at different cut-off grades (Reported 9th February 2023)
The Company has designed a drilling programme with a target of increasing the current resource to greater than 100,000 tonnes of contained copper which includes drilling to test mineralisation below 130 m depth and also shallower mineralisation on the periphery of the resource.
However, prior to embarking on this drilling campaign, in May 2024 the Company drilled a metallurgical test hole (D15). This was a diamond hole drilled with large diameter core commencing with PQ size and then reducing to HQ core to increase the recovered core sample. It was drilled to 300 metres depth and was drilled parallel and below TRC098 which had previously intersected 77 m @ 0.62% Cu although D15 was drilled beyond the edge of the existing resource. The purpose of the hole was to:
- Test mineralisation trends including continuity downdip from TRC098 and other nearby holes and beyond the existing resource.
- Check assay grade variability between chips from the earlier RC drilling and diamond drill core.
- Inspect geological features such as lithologies, bedding trends and structural logging.
- Provide an adequately sized sample for flotation and recovery testwork to produce a saleable copper concentrate.
- Provide a large bulk sample for testing for Tomra ore sorting
The hole was successfully drilled and completed on 13th May 2024. An outline of the findings is presented below.
Figure 3. Drilling of DD15 in May 2024.
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Tartana Minerals Limited, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
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Tartana Minerals
Investor Insight
Tartana Minerals is a new copper producer with strong cash flow and a substantial exploration footprint in a tier 1 mining jurisdiction. Tartana Minerals is creating shareholder value through investment in increasing its existing copper, zinc and gold resources and accelerating exploration of key projects within its highly prospective exploration portfolio. Tartana Minerals presents a compelling investment against a strong macroeconomic environment for copper.
Overview
Tartana Minerals (ASX:TAT) is a copper, gold, silver and zinc, producer, explorer and developer in Far North Queensland. Its flagship project is the 100 percent owned Tartana copper and zinc project which comprises four mining leases located north of Chillagoe. The company’s business model has involved refurbishing an existing heap leach - solvent extraction – crystallisation plant which is located on the Tartana mining leases. The refurbishment and commissioning of this plant is now completed and the company is producing copper sulphate pentahydrate which is sold to offtaker, Kanins International. Copper sulphate is priced on a premium plus percentage of the LME copper price and provides investors with leverage to anticipate increasing copper prices.
The company, formerly known as R3D Resources, changed its name to Tartana Minerals in April 2024. Tartana Minerals is based in Sydney, Australia.
Tartana Minerals has reported the following resources:
- 45,000 tonnes of contained copper at 0.45 percent copper in combined inferred and indicated resources in the Tartana open pit and northern oxide zone
- 39,000 tonnes of contained zinc at 5.29 percent zinc in inferred resources in the Queen Grade project, also located on the Tartana mining leases, and
- 415,000 oz contained gold at 0.34 g/t in inferred resources at Mountain Maid – subject to a mining lease application.
These copper, zinc and gold resources remain open at depth and along strike and the company has designed drilling programs to expand these resources. In particular, the copper mineralisation and potentially the gold mineralisation have scope to be upgraded through ore sorting.
However, the refurbished heap leach – solvent extraction – crystallisation plant utilises existing copper in the ponds and the heaps and these copper sources will be replenished when we commence mining from the open pit.
Copper sulphate contains 25 percent copper metal and payment is based on the LME copper price for the preceding month plus a premium. It is one of the few forms of saleable copper where the copper content receives the full LME price.
Sprinklers operating on the lower heap. Note the presence of copper (blue).
Tartana Minerals completed the acquisition of Queensland Strategic Metals with drilling planned to commence in 2025 that includes the Daisy Bell tin-tungsten project where historical drilling and our mapping have identified a potentially tin-rich zone.
Company Highlights
- Tartana Minerals is producing copper sulphate pentahydrate from its heap leach – solvent extraction – crystallisation plant in Chillagoe with a 100 percent offtake agreement with Kanins International.
- Copper sulphate is priced at a premium plus a percentage of the LME copper price, providing exposure to the booming copper market
- With copper, zinc and gold resources in separate projects and all within granted or soon to be granted mining leases, the company is investigating processing options which can potentially utilise available infrastructure.
- Near-term catalysts include targeted drilling programs to increase the JORC resource and expand on metallurgical test work, increasing the resource grade and estimate
- With the copper sulphate plant fully commissioned and in production, the company is now accelerating its exploration activities. The company has a range of prospects from advanced brownfields projects near existing historical mines to many prospects containing ‘ore grade’ surface mineralisation which have not been tested at depth.
- The company’s exploration portfolio includes the Beefwood/Bulimba, Bellevue, Dimbulah, Cardross and Maid projects. The exploration team is focused on target generation, particularly with the addition of critical minerals within its existing tenure and elsewhere.
Exploration
The Chillagoe region of Far North Queensland is highly prospective with the discovery and development of a number of key projects over the last few decades including Red Dome (2.5 Moz gold), Mungana (1.2 Moz gold), and King Vol (250 kt zinc). These deposits occur along the Palmerville Fault in a similar location to the Tartana Mining leases.
The mining leases at Tartana contain copper, zinc and gold mineralisation but the company also has significant projects which are both east and west of the Palmerville Fault. In the west it has the Cardross and Mountain Maid copper-gold projects and further north it has the Beefwood project. Mountain Maid has gold resources mentioned above and which are open to the south and at depth while the company is finalising a maiden copper resource for the Cardross project.
The Beefwood project comprises a buried geophysical target and surface sampling has recovered samples grading up to 180 g/t gold with no apparent source. Drilling is planned to test this target in the current dry season.
In the east of the Palmerville Fault, the company has the Bellevue/Dry River project, the OK South project and the Dimbulah Porphyry project, all copper projects with historic copper mines and prospects. Like many parts of Far North Queensland, historical exploration has not been systematic and thorough despite many promising expressions of surface mineralisation.
At the Nightflower project, Tartana has upgraded its exploration target after reviewing its earlier estimation, in light of the recent increases in the antimony price. Nightflower is a high-grade silver-lead deposit with previously overlooked significant antimony credits. Nightflower exploration target includes 2.75 Mt @ 364 g/t silver equivalent for 32 Moz silver equivalent to 5.36 Mt @ 270 g/t silver equivalent for 47 Moz silver equivalent (the exploration target is conceptual in nature only and there is no guarantee that further exploration will define a resource). Drilling is now being planned to test the target and upgrade previously identified mineralisation to JORC 2012 reporting standards.
Tartana’s exploration team comprises experienced exploration geologists with supporting cash flow from their copper production, they expect to be able to drill the most promising targets in the short term.
Strong Macroeconomic Environment for Copper
Overall, the macroeconomic environment for copper remains strong. The LME three-month copper price hit US$5.24/lb on May 17, the highest since March 7, 2022, driven by a weaker US dollar, Chinese property stimulus measures, and a short squeeze on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange futures market.
In the near-to-mid term, China’s demand for refined copper is expected to grow, due to better-than-expected performances from key consumer segments, including the power grid, solar installations and electric vehicle and air conditioning appliance sales. On the supply side, the copper concentrate market is expected to remain in a significant deficit due to the estimated delay in the Cobre Panama mine restart but will be partially offset by the higher projected production from smelters in China. As a result, we see further demand growth and supply tightening for the copper market as positive for base metal equities to maintain significant leverage to increase prices.
Management Team
Jihad Malaeb – Chairman
Jihad Malaeb is an experienced entrepreneur across a number of industries, including hospitality and construction, as well as having significant experience in mineral exploration and mining operations – both as an active investor and company director. He currently owns and operates a portfolio of hospitality businesses and real estate across Australia, which have been established over the past 30 years. Malaeb was previously a non-executive director of Critical Resources (ASX:CRR), where he helped steer CRR as one of its largest shareholders and as a board member.
Dr. Stephen Bartrop - Managing Director
Steve Bartrop’s professional experience spans more than 30 years covering periods in both the mining industry and financial sector. With a geology background, Bartrop has worked in exploration, feasibility and evaluation studies and mining in a range of commodities and in different parts of the world. In the financial sector, he has been involved in research, corporate transactions and IPOs spanning more than 20 years, including senior roles at JPMorgan, Bankers Trust and Macquarie Equities.
Bruce Hills – Non-executive Director
Bruce Hills is an accountant and is currently an executive director of Breakaway Investment Group, which operates the Breakaway Private Equity Emerging Resources Fund. Hills is a director of a number of unlisted companies in the mining and financial services sectors including The Risk Board and Stibium Australia. Hills has 35 years’ experience in the financial sector including 20 years in the banking industry primarily in the areas of strategy, finance and risk.
Dr. Alistair Lewis – Non-executive Director
Dr. Alistair Lewis is a successful entrepreneur and highly experienced medical doctor with over 40 years’ experience. For the past 10 years, Lewis has been involved in the management of mining and exploration companies. In 2017, Lewis established Oosen Lewis Mining in North Queensland. He financed the aggregation of a substantial portfolio of gold, tin, tungsten and antimony assets and instigated subsequent extensive exploration programs. These assets now form part of the QSM portfolio.
Michael Thirnbeck – Independent Non-executive Director
Michael Thirnbeck is an experienced geologist with over 25 years in managing numerous mineral development projects in Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and Australia. He has been a member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy since 1989 and holds B.Sc (Hons.) degree from the University of Queensland.
Shuyi (Kiara) Wang – Non-executive Director
Shuyi (Kiara) Wang was appointed a director of Tartana Minerals on July 17, 2024. Wang is an accomplished, emerging leader with a strong academic and professional background. She holds a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Philosophy from The University of Melbourne and is currently pursuing a Juris Doctor at the prestigious Melbourne Law School.
Copper, gold, silver and zinc, producer, explorer and developer in Far North Queensland, Australia
Pinnacle Silver and Gold
Investor Insight
Pinnacle Silver and Gold presents a compelling investment opportunity in the precious metals sector as it continues to advance its flagship high-grade El Potrero project in Mexico and its Red Lake, Ontario assets. The company’s proven business model focuses on rapidly reactivating past-producing mines to generate early cash flow, while simultaneously exploring for district-scale potential, offering a strong value proposition in a bullish gold-silver environment.
Overview
Pinnacle Silver and Gold (TSXV:PINN,OTC:PSGCF,Frankfurt:P9J) is a promising player positioned for growth in the precious metals exploration sector, with its strategic focus on high-potential projects, commitment to responsible mining practices, and experienced leadership team.
Focused on silver and gold projects in the Americas, Pinnacle is strategically placed to capitalize on the growing demand for these valuable resources. Its core projects include the high-grade El Potrero gold-silver project in Mexico, and the Argosy gold mine and North Birch gold project in Ontario’s Red Lake District – each offering near-term development potential and strong exploration upside.
Pinnacle’s current flagship project, El Potrero, is located within the Sierra Madre Gold Silver Trend.
The company's investment appeal stems from several key factors:
- A robust pipeline of projects at various stages of exploration and development
- Strategic focus on high-potential areas in North and South America
- Effective capital management practices
- Aggressive expansion strategy through strategic acquisitions
The company’s business strategy involves the acquisition of past-producing mines that can be put back into production quickly to generate cash flow. By focusing on high-grade, underground mines, Pinnacle can leverage low capex, a smaller operational footprint, easier and faster permitting process and protection against metal price volatility. At the same time, the company conducts brownfield exploration for resource expansion, increasing its potential for district-scale discovery.
Pinnacle's emphasis on creating shareholder value is evident in its approach to project selection and development. The company's portfolio is carefully curated to balance near-term production potential with long-term growth prospects, offering investors exposure to both immediate returns and future upside.
Company Highlights
- Pinnacle Silver and Gold is a Canada-based exploration and development company dedicated to building long-term shareholder value with its silver- and gold-focused assets in North and South America.
- The company’s flagship El Potrero gold-silver project, located in Mexico’s Sierra Madre Belt, has returned exceptional underground sample grades up to 85.1 grams per ton (g/t) gold and 520 g/t silver, with exploration potential across a 1.6 km strike length.
- The 100-percent-owned Argosy gold mine and North Birch project are located in the Red Lake District in Northwestern Ontario, a region famous for gold production and high-grade underground mines.
- The company’s strategy is to generate near-term production from past-producing assets while growing its resource base through modern, brownfields exploration.
- Pinnacle is led by a highly experienced management team with a successful track record in advancing exploration-stage assets through to production.
Key Projects
El Potrero Gold-Silver Project
El Potrero is a high-grade, past-producing gold-silver project located in the prolific Sierra Madre Belt in Mexico, within 35 km of four operating mines, including Fresnillo’s 4,000 tpd Ciénega Mine. The project comprises two concession blocks totaling 1,074 hectares, which include the historic mines and a 100 tpd on-site processing plant.
Recent Developments (as of July 2025):
- Over 600 rock samples have been collected from underground and surface sources for geochemical analysis.
- Channel sampling at the Pinos Cuates mine returned assays of up to 85.1 g/t gold and 520 g/t silver over 0.5 m, and composite intervals of 50.3 g/t gold and 269 g/t silver over 1.7 m.
- Geological interpretation highlights a significant quartz-feldspar porphyry dyke as a structural control on gold-silver mineralization.
- The Dos de Mayo vein system has been mapped over 1.6 km with trench and underground samples showing high-grade mineralization, including 13.2 g/t gold and 2,280 g/t silver from surface grab samples.
- Work is underway to design an underground and surface drill program to define continuity and guide future mine development.
- A site inspection of the 100 tpd plant confirmed that the base infrastructure is sound. Refurbishment of key equipment (crusher, mill, Merrill Crowe circuit) is being planned.
- Permitting efforts are progressing efficiently, aided by the site's historical disturbance. Baseline studies and formal permitting proposals are underway.
Pinnacle can earn an initial 50 percent interest upon production and increase its ownership of El Potrero to 100 percent subject to a 2 percent NSR, primarily through cash flow-funded payments, offering a low-dilution path to full ownership.
Argosy Gold Mine
Located within the Birch-Uchi Greenstone Belt in Ontario’s Red Lake District, and approximately 10 km from First Mining’s Springpole deposit, the Argosy gold mine produced 101,875 ounces at 12.7 g/t gold from 1931 to 1952. Pinnacle owns 100 percent of the project, subject to a 2.5 percent NSR.
Exploration Highlights:
- Past drilling intersected high-grade mineralization, including:
- 14.67 g/t gold over 1.7 m (No. 3 Vein)
- 12.02 g/t gold over 1.29 m (No. 8 Vein)
- 11.75 g/t gold over 1.55 m (No. 2 Vein)
- The project offers strong depth potential, with 2002–2004 drilling intersecting multiple new veins and gold mineralization extending to 400 m vertical depth.
North Birch Gold Project
Located 4 km from the Argosy Mine, North Birch is a 3,850-hectare grassroots project with major upside. The property lies in an underexplored section of the Birch-Uchi Belt and covers a folded and sheared iron formation, interpreted as analogous to Newmont’s Musselwhite Mine.
Exploration Work:
- LiDAR surveys and IP geophysics have revealed 8+ km of structural breaks with multiple drill targets.
- 2022 drilling intersected anomalous gold and copper mineralization within structurally deformed and altered iron formations, confirming the favorable structural setting
Management Team
Robert Archer - President, CEO and Director
Robert Archer has more than 40 years’ experience in the mining industry, working throughout the Americas. After spending more than 15 years with major mining companies, Archer held several senior management positions in the junior mining sector and co-founded Great Panther Mining, a mid-tier precious metals producer, where he served as president and CEO from 2004 to 2017 and director until 2020. He joined Pinnacle as a director in March 2018 followed by his appointment as CEO in January 2019 and president in October 2021. Archer is a professional geologist and holds an Honours BSc from Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario.
David Cross - CFO
David Cross is a CPA and CGA with over 21 years’ experience in the junior sector with a focus on finance and corporate governance. He is currently a partner of Cross Davis and Company LLP Chartered Professional Accountant, which specializes in accounting and management services for private and publicly listed companies within the mining industry, and has recently been appointed CFO of Ashburton Ventures.
Colin Jones - Independent Director
Colin Jones is principal consultant for Orimco Resource Investment Advisors in Perth, Australia. He has almost 40 years’ experience as a mining, exploration and consulting geologist in a number of different geological environments on all continents. He has managed large exploration and due diligence projects, and has undertaken numerous bankable technical audits, technical valuations, independent expert reports and due diligence studies worldwide, most of which were on behalf of major international resource financing institutions and banks. Jones holds a Bachelor of Science (Earth Sciences) degree from Massey University, NZ.
David Salari - Independent Director
David Salari has worldwide experience in the design, construction and operation of extractive metallurgical plants. He is an engineer with more than 35 years of experience in the mining and mineral processing field. He is currently the president and CEO of DENM Engineering.
Ron Schmitz - Independent Director
Ron Schmitz is the principal and president of ASI Accounting Services, providing administrative, accounting and office services to public and private companies since July 1995. Schmitz has served as a director and/or chief financial officer of various public companies since 1997, and currently holds these positions with various public and private companies.
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