Sabre Resources Advances Tennant Creek Ambitions with Major Acquisition and Drilling Launch
Sabre Resources has secured 4,000km2 of prime gold-copper ground near Tennant Creek and kicked off its maiden drilling campaign at Kurundi North, aiming to replicate world-class mineralisation.
- Completed 4,000km2 acquisition in Tennant Creek region
- Maiden 6,000m aircore and RC drilling underway at Kurundi North
- Targets mimic high-grade Tennant Creek ironstone copper-gold systems
- Northern Territory Government co-funding secured for follow-up diamond drilling
- Plans to drill high-grade gold targets in North Arunta Gold Project
Strategic Acquisition Unlocks Extensive Tennant Creek Exploration Ground
Sabre Resources (ASX:SBR) has completed a significant acquisition of 4,000km2 of exploration projects in the Northern Territory’s Tennant Creek region, marking a major step in its copper and gold ambitions. The purchase includes the East Tennant Ridge IOCG corridor and the North Arunta Gold Project, both situated on extensions or repeats of the Tennant Creek Mineral Field (TCMF), which historically yielded 5.5 million ounces of gold at 6.9 g/t and 700,000 tonnes of copper at 2.8%. Recent resource additions of 1 million ounces of gold and 500,000 tonnes of copper underscore the area’s ongoing potential.
Maiden Drilling Program Targets Tennant Creek Look-Alike Mineralisation
The company has already commenced the first stage of its maiden drilling program at the Kurundi North Project, located 80km southeast along strike from Tennant Creek. This initial campaign involves up to 6,000 metres of aircore and reverse circulation drilling targeting ironstone-hosted copper-gold-bismuth anomalies beneath shallow cover. The program aims to test magnetic-gravity ‘ironstone’ targets and geochemical anomalies that mimic the style of mineralisation that defines the Tennant Creek deposits.
The drilling is structured in two phases: an initial aircore/slimline RC stage to penetrate transported cover and reach Proterozoic bedrock, followed by deeper RC drilling to 200 metres in zones showing promising geology or mineralisation. Importantly, the Northern Territory Government has granted 50% co-funding for two deeper diamond drillholes to follow up on the most significant early results, reflecting public sector confidence in the project’s prospectivity.
North Arunta Gold Project Drilling Plans to Follow Kurundi North
Following Kurundi North, Sabre plans to advance drilling at the North Arunta Gold Project, which covers 1,000km2 along the Kroda Gold Trend. This corridor has produced historic high-grade gold intersections, including 12 metres at 15.7 g/t Au at the Kroda 3 prospect. Previous drilling within the company’s tenements has returned notable results such as 6 metres at 3.5 g/t Au and 3 metres at 3.87 g/t Au, associated with quartz veining and sulphides in shear zones that remain open at depth and along strike under shallow cover.
Drilling permits are in progress, with an Environmental Mining Licence application submitted to the Northern Territory Government. The program will focus on extensions of known mineralised structures, guided by reprocessed magnetic imagery highlighting strongly magnetic zones coincident with historical gold intersections.
CEO Highlights Potential for Transformational Discoveries
Sabre’s CEO Jon Dugdale described the acquisition and drilling commencement as potentially transformational. He emphasised the strategic value of the 4,000km2 package, which offers multiple drill-ready targets on extensions of the world-class Tennant Creek Mineral Field. Dugdale noted the company’s swift progress, with drilling already underway at Kurundi North and plans advancing for North Arunta, positioning Sabre to capitalise on one of Australia’s most prospective copper-gold regions.
Bottom Line?
Sabre’s aggressive entry into the Tennant Creek region sets the stage for a critical phase of exploration; early drilling results and government-backed follow-up will be pivotal in defining the scale of new discoveries.
Questions in the middle?
- Will the initial Kurundi North drilling confirm the presence of Tennant Creek-style ironstone mineralisation?
- How quickly can Sabre advance follow-up diamond drilling with government co-funding to test deeper targets?
- Can the North Arunta drilling replicate or exceed the historical high-grade gold intersections along the Kroda Trend?
