Trek Metals Expands Kuro Drill Program After Visual Manganese Intersections

Trek Metals (ASX: TKM) has expanded maiden drilling at its Kuro manganese discovery after intersecting visual manganese mineralisation in all 15 reverse circulation holes completed to date.

The 100%-owned discovery forms part of the company’s Christmas Creek manganese and gold project in Western Australia’s Kimberley region.

Trek has drilled 1,164 metres so far, with the current program only about 20% complete and 77 drill pads now prepared across the prospect.

The first batch of drill samples will be dispatched this week for laboratory analysis, with assay results expected in four to six weeks.

Visual Manganese Intercepts

The strongest visual intercept to date returned 17m of semi-massive visual manganese from 9m down-hole within a broader 27m zone from 2m, while a second hole delivered 9m of massive visual manganese from 24m down-hole within an 18m broader zone from 19m.

A further intercept elsewhere again returned 6m of massive visual manganese from surface within a broader 25m zone from surface.

Trek used induced polarisation (IP) surveying to identify multiple new high-priority drill targets through, including chargeability anomalies that appear to correlate with manganese mineralisation.

The company completed additional earthworks over the weekend under the supervision of Traditional Owner monitors to allow drilling of further chargeability anomalies, and will continue systematically testing the induced polarisation anomalies as a priority while laboratory assays and ongoing geophysics refine the exploration model.

‘Effective Targeting Tool’

Chief executive officer Derek Marshall described the program—the first targeting manganese in the project area—as early-stage but encouraging for Trek’s developing Kuro model.

“The observed visual manganese mineralisation and associated host-rocks are consistent with a hydrothermal “Woodie Woodie-style” system and continue to represent the top priority drill target area for the company,” he said.

“Importantly, drilling is not only confirming the presence of manganese mineralisation in multiple holes, but the IP survey is providing an effective targeting tool that is helping us identify additional prospective zones.”

“That gives us increasing confidence in the scale of the exploration opportunity we are testing.”