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TEMPEST
The time is now for copper and gold discover
MINING | TEMPEST MINERALS
MINERALS
ries in the Yalgoo region of Western Australia
ASX-listed Tempest Minerals has been established in the Yalgoo region of Western Australia (WA) for several years, formerly operating as a pure play lithium explorer under the name Lithium Consolidated (Li3). However, due to the saturation of the lithium market in 2019, the company’s board decided that a more risk weighted approach was in order. The subsequent acquisition of Warrigal Mining – an outfit founded by Australian mining engineer Owen Burchell and experienced geologist Don Smith – provided access to a suite of precious and base metals exploration projects in the highly prospective Yalgoo greenstone belt, located approximately 400 km Northeast of Perth. Now with exploration interests in gold, copper and lithium, the combined company’s new leadership felt a name change was required to promote its more diversified approach. They came up with Tempest – loosely translated from Latin as ‘the time is now’ - a good slogan for what the firm is trying to achieve, according to managing director Don Smith.
MINING | TEMPEST MINERALS
Data-driven Diving deeper into the culture that has been propagating within Tempest since the end of 2019, Smith describes a data-driven approach that he and the company believe is fundamental for making discoveries in the modern exploration space. “A lot of companies are talking about the ‘digital revolution’ in mining, but we’re trying to live it,” he says. “We have a paperless office, all our work done in the field is done through apps, some of which we’ve developed in-house. “All this data goes straight to our own cloud, which we can then review in our various software packages in real time if necessary. I think in that regard we are many steps ahead of our competitors.” Smith has previously described Yalgoo as ‘unloved’ and ‘underexplored’ in comparison to some of WA’s more established mining hotspots,
MINING | TEMPEST MINERALS
but during the last 12 months he has noticed a considerable ramp up in prospective activity within close proximity to Tempest’s projects. “There’s been a number of explorers entering the arena in Yalgoo in the last year – coincidentally since COVID-19 made an appearance – and there’s been some very highprofile successes too.” These include Firefly Resources making sustained drilling progress in Yalgoo Town, Venture Minerals
“A lot of companies are talking about the ‘digital revolution’ in mining, but we’re trying to live it. We have a paperless office, all our work done in the field is done through apps, some of which we’ve developed inhouse” Don Smith, Tempest Minerals managing director
T E M P EST MIN E RALS
AT A G L A N C E
announcing the re-
retained its lithium assets
discovery of volcanogenic
further South.
massive sulphides (VMS) Grove North Project and Emu
Drilling the Messenger
NL recording consistent gold
One of Tempest’s most
hits at the historic Gnows Nest
promising copper-gold
Gold Mine.
properties is the Messenger
mineralisation at the Golden
Project, which is located in STOCK TICKER: ASX:TEM MARKET CAPITALISATION: US$6.5 million (as of March 18, 2021) aj
“Everyone has rushed into the
an area that is known for the
area, had great initial success
discovery of high-grade gold
and we’re enjoying having
mineralisation in the early
neighbours,” Smith quips.
20th century, when operators
Much of the growing body of
produced between two and 10
exploration work in the region
ounces per tonne through a
focuses on gold and copper
state processing facility.
mineralisation, which is also true of Tempest’s portfolio,
“Since that time, it’s been
although the company has
a very popular place in the
MINING | TEMPEST MINERALS
region for individuals to go
of this existing data with its
The next phase of
and hunt for nuggets and
own mapping work in the field
development at the Messenger
do artisanal mining, but
– a process Smith calls ‘proof-
Project commenced at the start
nobody has really explored
truthing’.
of March 2021 with a 2,500
it commercially. There was
metres RC drilling campaign at
some initial drilling done
After collecting all the existing
the existing Dally lode-hosted
in the 1990s when one of
data and using it to remodel
gold target and the Wally VMS
those holes intercepted some
some existing geophysics for
target. Tempest hopes that
very high grades, but the
the whole region, Tempest
the wide-spaced drilling will
area definitely wasn’t tested
has been able to identify
confirm a large mineralised
comprehensively.”
two clear anomalies at the
system at the project that
Messenger project, with one
could support a standalone
Closely following its data-
of those anomalies matching
mine.
driven approach, Tempest has
the historic mining location
spent time collating a huge
but with a significantly longer
amount of historic data in the
strike than previously had
Multi-project approach
Messenger Project region and
been realised.
While Tempest advances the
cross-referencing the veracity
Messenger drilling campaign
ALTUS S
over the coming months, this
tend to focus on one project at
drilled at previous projects. So
will not come at the expense of
a time,” Smith says.
we rotate around our projects
progression at the firm’s other
and improve them one by one
projects in the Yalgoo. “We’re
“We aim to conduct drilling
and reprioritise our targets
a little bit different to some
at one project and while that’s
based on the results.”
exploration companies that
happening, we’re reviewing and remodelling the data we’ve
MINING | TEMPEST MINERALS
SPOTLIGHT ON
Don Smith
Don Smith is a geologist and entrepreneur with over 20 years in the mining industry. He has worked roles for junior through to multinational firms on projects spanning six continents and numerous commodities.
In the spirit of this multiproject approach, Tempest is currently prioritising drill targets for Q3 at the 332 km² Meleya Project, which could yield copper and gold from a vast tract of VMS
Don has been involved with a number of private and publicly listed resource companies including as a founding director of Platypus Resources and as a director of Alderan Resources and its highly successful IPO. Don has a Bachelor of Science from Newcastle University and an MBA from the Australian Institute of Business. He is a member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and a member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists.
RGN editor Jacob Ambrose Willson interviews Tempest Minerals managing director Don Smith, March 10, 2021
“We aim to conduct drilling at one project and while that’s happening, we’re reviewing and remodelling the data we’ve drilled at previous projects. So we rotate around our projects and improve them one by one and reprioritise our targets based on the results”
mineralisation in the same
nearby processing facilities
host rocks that hold the world
providing a pathway to
class Golden Grove copper-
production.
zinc mine. And finally in the Yalgoo Tempest is also currently
region, Tempest will look
planning a resource
to build on the great recent
study at the Euro Project
success at the Warriedar West
ahead of a confirmation
Project, which has yielded
drilling programme. This
three gold discoveries in
smaller, predominately
recent times.
gold-mineralised project is strategically located between
“At Warriedar West, we’ve
three operating mines, with
proven a geological theory we’ve had for some time. Not many people in WA are
MINING | TEMPEST MINERALS
“We’re very confident in our
gold systems, and we now have
Breaking new ground
shown unequivocally that it is
Looking back over the last two
and we happen to be in a
precisely that.
to three years, Smith puts on
world class jurisdiction where
record his - and the company’s
we’re not subjected to some
“It’s an intrusion that’s come
- new-found confidence in
of the more unfortunate
up and flowed very close to
the Tempest story having
circumstances that other
the surface and had some
diversified its commodity
jurisdictions are suffering
interesting alteration happen
focus in the increasingly
with at the moment. That has
to it which means that it’s
mineralogically attractive
definitely helped us and we
packed with gold. There’s a
Yalgoo region of WA, where it
look forward to continue doing
number of places where these
has been operating for several
more good work in the Yalgoo,”
high-grade pods exist and we
years.
he concludes.
looking for intrusive related
tapped into one of those in our recent drilling there,” Smith recalls.
ability to make discoveries
Published by Anderson Murray Media Ltd
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