Tommy Burns Project

 

Overview

The Tommy Burns Project is a historical underground tin and tungsten mine that operated from 1973-1984. Gold Copper Exploration Limited reported production of over 6,000 tonnes of tin and tungsten concentrates from 259,000 tonnes of ore during this period. The mine was closed in 1984 due to the collapse of the tin price, but significant mineralisation remained.

Historical exploration

A substantial body of historical reporting details the exploration work completed by Gold Copper Exploration Limited, which included 96 diamond drill holes and percussion drilling from the surface and from numerous levels within the mine.

Detailed geological work was conducted both underground and on surface. According to one report, the mine contains “several discrete ore bodies ranging in size from 1,000 to 185,000 tonnes.” They range in shape from irregular pods to near-vertical pipes, lenses, veins and elongated bodies; there is significant potential for the discovery of several new ore bodies in the 5,000 to 40,000 tonnes range.

Value capture

Recent studies and exploration have revealed the presence of the critical mineral bismuth at a sufficient grade to represent a unique opportunity for DCM to supplement Tommy Burns’ potential tin mineralisation, and in doing so improve the mine’s future prospectivity.

While the Queensland and Australian governments, as well as the rest of the world, consider bismuth to be a critical mineral, there is currently no known production in Queensland. Tommy Burns could be the first.

Dover Castle Metals is currently focussed on developing a 3D resource model that incorporates all historical data, as well as DCM’s contemporary drilling, sampling, mapping and surveying, to guide the next phase of exploration.