Mark Hancock, executive director of CuFe Limited, said the ability to leverage from recent high-grade discoveries made by Tennant and Emmerson in the area provides a unique development opportunity.

Together the junior mining trio control 7.3 million tonnes grading 0.6 grams per tonne gold and 1.7 per cent copper for resources of 145,000 ounces of gold and 127,000 tonnes of copper.

CuFe is a 55 per cent stakeholder and operator of a joint-venture (JV) which owns the Orlando-Gecko and Goanna copper-gold projects within the region.

Recent “eyebrow-raising” discoveries in the region include Tennant’s Barkly project with hits at its Bluebird prospect of 61.8m going 2.3 per cent copper and 0.4g/t gold and 63m running 2.1 per cent copper and 4.6g/t gold.

Emmerson has also revealed coffee spitting returns of 119m at 3.3 per cent copper and 0.87g/t gold and a 94.4m intersection grading 2.74 per cent copper and 5.58g/t gold from its Hermitage discovery.

Historically, the Tennant Creek mineral field operated with centralised processing facilities and fed by a number of high-grade mines. The alliance will investigate whether this type of facility may warrant being replicated.

Emmerson has an existing carbon-in-leach gold only facility being constructed in the area by its JV partner TCMG, however the potential proposed facility by the group would be wider-reaching and include processing of copper and critical minerals.

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