Flynn Gold (ASX: FG1) has identified high-grade gold, tungsten, and cobalt near surface at its Firetower project in northwest Tasmania.
Ongoing re-sampling of historical drill core delivered significant intercepts such as 17 metres at 4.1 grams per tonne gold, 0.21% tungsten and 0.04% cobalt, which included 6m at 9.27g/t gold, 0.59% tungsten, and 0.08% cobalt from 7m; and 3m at 17.20g/t gold, 1.10% tungsten, and 0.02% cobalt from 10m.
Flynn retrieved the samples from remaining half-core that Noranda had drilled in 1990, and stored at the Department of State Growth facility in Hobart.
New Analysis Method
Re-assaying of samples using lithium borate fusion analysis followed by x-ray fluorescence upgraded the tungsten by 92% to a project-wide best of 0.73% tungsten over a 17m interval.
This included 1.7m at 6.64g/t gold, 1.08% tungsten, 0.13% cobalt, and 0.14% copper from 121m, as well as 3.8m at 2.18g/t gold, 0.88% tungsten, 0.27% cobalt, and 0.10% copper from 126.2m.
Earlier drilling programs at Firetower employed the four-acid digest method to determine tungsten grades, which only performs partial digestion—particularly where scheelite hosts the tungsten.
Re-sampling of the remaining drill core will accelerate over the coming weeks to target the calculation of a maiden mineral resource estimate in the new year.
Continuity of Mineralisation
Managing director Neil Marston said the latest results highlight the potential for gold-tungsten-cobalt mineralisation at Firetower to extend along strike and at depth.
“Our re-assaying has confirmed the continuity of polymetallic mineralisation at Firetower, where the wide zone of gold and critical metals extends to a depth of 150m from surface and remains open,” he said.
“We have adopted a new analytical method to assess the project’s high-grade tungsten content […] and, given the improved results, we will now apply this method wherever we record anomalous tungsten assays.”
Critical Minerals Demand
Tungsten is one of the world’s most critical minerals due to its high melting point and hardness, which makes it suitable across a range of applications.
Global tungsten demand has been rising due to supply side constraints from China-initiated export controls, which is in turn driving price growth, while cobalt is also in demand as a key manufacturing component in the global shift toward clean technologies.
With approximately 70% of global cobalt production coming from the Democratic Republic of Congo, end-users have started seeking alternative sources particularly from Tier-1 jurisdictions with strong ESG credentials, such as Australia.
The association of gold with tungsten and cobalt adds significant potential value to Firetower, broadening its economic and strategic importance.
