Trigg Minerals Uncovers Vast High-Grade Tungsten System at Tennessee Mountain

Historical Data Reveals Significant Tungsten Potential

Trigg Minerals Limited (ASX, TMG) has announced a compelling discovery at its Tennessee Mountain Project in Nevada, unveiling a large-scale, high-grade tungsten system based on a comprehensive review of historical exploration data from 1956. This dataset, originally compiled by Union Carbide Nuclear Company, outlines extensive trenching and diamond drilling that confirmed tungsten mineralisation along a strike length exceeding 2.5 kilometres.

The historical drilling intercepted notable grades, including intervals such as 24.9 metres at 0.65% tungsten trioxide (WO3) and shorter, higher-grade zones reaching up to 2.06% WO3. Importantly, many drill holes ended within mineralised zones, indicating the system remains open at depth and along strike, suggesting further upside potential.

Selective Sampling and Exploration Upside

The 1956 exploration employed ultraviolet light to selectively sample visible scheelite mineralisation, a method that likely captured only the high-grade cores of broader mineralised zones. This selective approach means the reported intercepts probably represent minimum true widths, leaving potentially extensive lower-grade halos untested. Modern systematic sampling and drilling are expected to reveal larger mineralised envelopes, enhancing the project's bulk-tonnage potential.

Historical trenching also exposed continuous near-surface mineralisation, with a 107-metre-long, 4.5-metre-thick tactite bed grading 0.61% WO3, reinforcing the prospectivity of the skarn system. The geological setting; a classic skarn formed at the contact between a granitic intrusion and calcareous sedimentary rocks; is well understood and globally significant for tungsten deposits.

Strategic Importance and Planned Exploration

Located in Elko County, Nevada, a Tier-1 mining jurisdiction, the Tennessee Mountain Project holds strategic value as a potential domestic US source of tungsten, a critical mineral essential for defence, aerospace, and industrial applications. With global tungsten prices currently around US$42,000 per metric tonne; tenfold higher than in 1956; the project’s economic potential is substantial.

Trigg Minerals has outlined a clear, phased exploration strategy. The initial phase involves digitising and 3D modelling the historical data to optimise drill targeting. This will be followed by field verification and systematic surface sampling scheduled for September 2025. The final phase anticipates a maiden drilling program in mid-2026 aimed at validating historical results, determining true mineralisation widths, and testing extensions along strike and at depth.

Managing Director Andre Booyzen emphasised the significance of the historical blueprint, noting the continuity of mineralisation and the opportunity to define a secure, domestic tungsten supply. The company plans to fund this exploration from existing cash reserves, focusing on a low-risk, high-impact approach that leverages the robust historical dataset.

Caution and Next Steps

While the historical data provides a strong foundation, it predates modern JORC reporting standards and lacks contemporary quality assurance protocols. Trigg Minerals cautions that these results are indicative and require confirmation through twin drilling and modern sampling. The upcoming exploration phases will be critical to verify the reliability of the historical data and to advance the project towards a JORC-compliant resource estimate.