Major Gold Discovery Emerging at Tesoro's La Brea Target
Tesoro Gold Limited (ASX: TSO) has announced significant surface sampling results revealing a potentially large-scale new gold system at its La Brea target, located approximately 15km north of the company's established high-grade gold expands Tesoro's Ternera deposit in Chile.
Four Major Mineralised Trends Identified Across Vast Target Area
Recent mapping and systematic channel sampling have delineated four major northwest mineralised trends at La Brea, each up to 200m wide and 4km long, highlighting the significant scale potential of this emerging target. Individual fault zones returned multiple high-grade gold assays including:
- 1.00m @ 22.10 g/t Au
- 1.00m @ 11.80 g/t Au
- 4.00m @ 4.85 g/t Au
- 1.00m @ 10.45 g/t Au
- 1.00m @ 9.38 g/t Au
Remarkably, approximately 40% of the 317 samples collected returned results above 0.10 g/t Au, demonstrating the widespread nature of gold mineralisation at La Brea.
"These results from the La Brea area demonstrate the potential for a new large-scale gold system to have been uncovered by our team. We see gold mineralisation associated with favourable fault zones with associated widespread alteration, all adjacent to the La Isla intrusion, which we believe to be directly related to gold mineralisation," commented Tesoro Managing Director, Zeff Reeves.
Geological Similarities to Established Ternera Deposit
The widespread outcropping gold mineralisation at La Brea is associated with fault zones adjacent to the La Isla intrusion, showing significant geological similarities to the nearby 1.5Moz Ternera Deposit. These similarities suggest the potential for La Brea to host a substantial gold system comparable to Ternera.
The major gold discovery at Tesoro Gold Ltd's La Brea target appears to follow the same geological model as the company's existing Ternera deposit, with gold mineralisation occurring along northwest-trending fault zones adjacent to a granodiorite intrusion.
Next Steps: Trenching Program and Maiden Drilling
Following these encouraging results, Tesoro has initiated a detailed trenching program across the main identified mineralised zones at La Brea. This work will help refine initial drill locations ahead of maiden drilling, which is scheduled to commence in the next few months.
La Brea is one of multiple high-quality gold targets outside the Ternera Deposit that Tesoro continues to delineate at El Zorro. The company plans to commence initial drill testing of the most prospective of these targets in the coming months, similar to how Austin Metals begins drilling gold target near top producers in Western Australia.
Understanding Intrusive Related Gold Systems
Tesoro has discovered and defined the first Intrusive Related Gold System (IRGS) in Chile at El Zorro. This type of deposit has several distinctive characteristics:
- Low sulphide content (typically <5%)
- Reduced ore mineral assemblage predominantly comprising pyrite
- Mineralisation occurs as sheeted vein deposits or stockwork assemblages
- Often combines gold with elements like Bi, W, As, Mo, Te, and/or Sb
- Restricted and commonly weak proximal hydrothermal alteration
- Associated with intrusions of intermediate to felsic composition
Understanding this deposit type is key to exploring La Brea effectively, as the mineralisation appears to follow the same geological model as the Ternera deposit.
The major gold discovery at Tesoro Gold Ltd's La Brea target exhibits these characteristics, with mineralisation associated with fault zones and alteration adjacent to the La Isla intrusion, which is interpreted to be related to the El Zorro Tonalite intrusions that host most of the gold at Ternera.
El Zorro: A District-Scale Gold Project
The El Zorro Gold Project is situated in Chile's Coastal Cordillera region, which hosts multiple world-class copper and gold mines and benefits from well-established infrastructure and an experienced mining workforce.
Tesoro's 95% owned Chilean subsidiary owns 93.8% of the El Zorro Gold Project, which includes the 1.5Moz Ternera Gold Deposit alongside multiple emerging targets like La Brea. Furthermore, this approach to resource development is reminiscent of Lachlan Star's north Cobar copper-gold targets near CSA Mine. The Ternera Deposit contains a constrained resource of:
| Category | Tonnes (Mt) | Grade (g/t Au) | Gold (koz) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indicated | 22.5 | 1.10 | 795 |
| Inferred | 10.0 | 1.18 | 379 |
| Total | 32.5 | 1.13 | 1,175 |
With the addition of underground resources (at a 1.50 g/t Au cut-off), the total constrained resource stands at 33.7Mt @ 1.18 g/t Au for 1,282koz.
Why Investors Should Follow Tesoro Gold
Tesoro Gold represents an attractive investment opportunity for several key reasons:
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District-Scale Potential: The identification of the large-scale La Brea target demonstrates that El Zorro is truly a district-scale gold project with multiple discovery opportunities beyond Ternera.
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Proven Exploration Success: The company has already defined a substantial 1.5Moz gold resource at Ternera and continues to identify new targets with similar geological characteristics.
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Strategic Location: The project is located in Chile's mining-friendly Coastal Cordillera region with excellent infrastructure and access to skilled labour.
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Clear Path Forward: With a detailed trenching program underway and maiden drilling scheduled in the coming months, Tesoro has a clear roadmap for advancing the La Brea target.
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Experienced Management: The exploration team has demonstrated their ability to identify and delineate significant gold mineralisation at El Zorro.
The major gold discovery at Tesoro Gold Ltd's La Brea target may represent a significant value driver for the company, potentially adding substantial resource ounces to the existing 1.5Moz gold inventory at El Zorro.
As Tesoro prepares for maiden drilling at La Brea, investors should watch for results that could potentially add significant resource ounces to the company's existing 1.5Moz gold inventory at El Zorro, potentially driving a substantial revaluation of the company. This multi-project approach mirrors the strategy of S2 Resources' major drilling campaign across Australia, while the potential for early gold production opportunities could be similar to Mt Fisher stockpiles being investigated by other companies.
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