The company said a reverse circulation drilling program had identified a blind zinc-gold-silver mineralised system in the form of a broad-altered shear zone containing massive, semi-massive and disseminated sulphides.

Maximum grades from 1m RC chip samples returned 8.82% zinc, 4.04 grams per tonne gold, 20.7gpt silver, 0.2% copper and 0.46% lead.

TPE advisory board member and lead geologist Neil Hutchison said the significance of the discovery should not be underestimated.

"It could be the tip of something big," he said.

"Our geological and geophysical teams are extremely positive about the drilling results, as well as the down-hole transient electromagnetic (DHTEM) results which support the potential for a much larger scaled system that has strike and depth potential."

Mineralisation has been intersected at 60-100m below surface.

"It is open in all directions and has considerable width to it, so we are confident it is not a small system," Hutchinson said.

"It has the potential to develop into a much deeper system as drilling unlocks the geological and structural controls on this mineralised system."

Intersections included 9m at 1.27gpt gold, 4.01gpt silver, and 2.41% zinc from 136m , including 5m at 1.76gpt gold, 4.35gpt silver and 3.88% zinc and 1m at 0.5gpt gold, 4.57gpt silver and 8.82% zinc.

TPE said the core was similar to that seen at Bellevue Gold's nearby 1.5Moz namesake project, but with not as much quartz veining.

TPE CEO Arthur Darivas said the discovery of zinc and copper at Kathleen Valley indicated the project's scale was likely to be much larger than originally anticipated.

"Drill results have exceeded our expectations, both in terms of indications of size and the potential size of zinc. This is in addition to the confirmed hard rock lithium potential at the site," he said.

"This is a major find, in the right location, and with the right findings. We are extremely excited and look forward to continuing this momentum as we continue to develop our projects.

"This is early days for our find, but we are incredibly pleased with the results and feel that the location will be a big plus as we look to develop the project."

TPE has three business units - technology, exploration and investment, and outside exploration projects in WA and Argentina, the company is also developing a revolutionary new process for extracting lithium from salt (salar) brine.