Thunderbird Reports High-Grade Rock Chips at Rockvale, Expands Kookabookra Tenements

NSW Gold-Antimony Projects Take Centre Stage

Thunderbird Resources (ASX: THB) has rapidly mobilised exploration activities across its recently acquired Rockvale and Kookabookra gold-antimony projects in New South Wales, marking a significant pivot towards these assets as the company's primary focus. The maiden ground-based programs, conducted with local landowner cooperation, involved systematic rock chip sampling across multiple prospects, with samples now en route to laboratories for multi-element assays. Early reviews of historical data have already revealed additional high-grade rock chip assays, underscoring the projects’ potential.

At Rockvale, situated within the prolific New England Orogen and adjacent to Larvotto Resources’ Hillgrove Antimony-Gold Project, the largest antimony deposit in Australia, historical sampling highlights include assays up to 49.8g/t gold, 4.65% antimony, and 4,350g/t silver. These figures reinforce the district’s reputation and Thunderbird’s strategic positioning within it.

Meanwhile, the Kookabookra Project, covering 130 square kilometres and located near significant regional deposits such as Trigg Minerals’ Wild Cattle Creek antimony deposit, has seen the acquisition of an additional exploration licence (ELA6878). This new tenement extends coverage over key geological structures like the Glen Bluff Fault and prospective granitic intrusions, which are known hosts for intrusion-related gold mineralisation. Historical workings within Kookabookra have yielded gold grades exceeding 40g/t, further justifying ongoing exploration efforts.

Copper-Silver Exploration Accelerates in Peru

In South America, Thunderbird’s 30% stake in the Picha Copper-Silver Project, operated jointly with Firetail Resources (ASX: FTL), has yielded a new porphyry copper target following detailed spectral and geochemical data reviews. The project’s inclusion in BHP Xplor’s 2025 accelerator program brings approximately US$500,000 in non-dilutive funding, accelerating geological modelling and exploration activities. Recent UAV magnetics surveys and extensive soil sampling are underway to refine the understanding of mineralisation controls at the Anta Q'illqa target, while drill permitting progresses for the Ichucollo target, which has previously returned significant copper intercepts.

Canadian Uranium Assets Under Review

Thunderbird’s uranium portfolio in Canada’s Athabasca Basin remains strategically important but saw no new fieldwork during the quarter. The company is actively considering joint ventures or divestments for one or more of its projects, including Surprise Creek, Hidden Bay, Cluff Lake, and Hook Lake. Notably, the Hidden Bay project’s recent drilling intersected encouraging alteration zones and elevated uranium pathfinder elements, suggesting potential for future exploration pending geophysical survey results.

Financial and Corporate Overview

Exploration expenditure for the quarter was modest at $67,000, reflecting the early-stage nature of the NSW programs and ongoing preparatory work in Peru and Canada. Thunderbird reported no production activities during the period. Payments to related parties totalled $81,000, primarily for directors’ fees and consulting services. The company ended the quarter with a healthy cash balance of $1.573 million, providing an estimated 12 quarters of funding at current expenditure rates, underscoring a solid financial footing to support its exploration ambitions.

Looking ahead, Thunderbird plans to expand its exploration footprint with further rock chip and soil sampling, alongside geophysical surveys such as high-resolution airborne magnetics and induced polarisation, particularly at its NSW projects. The market will be watching closely for assay results from recent sampling and updates on drilling approvals in Peru, as well as any developments regarding the potential uranium asset transactions in Canada.