Western Mines Group has been buoyed by visible sulphides in its first 11 holes sunk during a second-phase reverse-circulation (RC) drill campaign at its flagship Mulga Tank project in Western Australia’s Goldfields region.
Management says the initial 17-hole infill program is focused on higher-grade core areas at the operation that were identified from its exploration target modelling released earlier this month. The company is targeting a globally-significant 350 million to 2.2 billion tonnes grading between 0.24 and 0.35 per cent nickel at the site about 190km east/north-east of Kalgoorlie.
The model estimates that potential mineralisation within the zone also includes 120 to 150 parts per million cobalt, with a sulphur-to-nickel ratio in the range of 1.1 to 1.3. Western Mines says the ongoing drill campaign is designed to progressively de-risk, improve confidence in and aid resource evaluation for the newly-discovered nickel sulphide system.
Samples from the 11 completed holes have been sent to the laboratory for testing, with the remaining six RC holes set to be completed midway through next month. Once the infill campaign is done and dusted, management says it will kick off drilling its next deep diamond hole, which has been co-funded by the State Government’s Exploration Incentive Scheme (EIS) and is valued at the maximum $220,000 award.
In April last year, the company secured the same amount through the EIS to help fund the drilling of two previous deep diamond holes.
The next diamond hole will aim to identify a sulphide-enriched keel in the deepest part of the complex, based on the company’s previous deep core drilling, and will also test a coincident MobileMT anomaly about 1160m below the surface and near the basal contact.
Visible sulphides were seen in all of the holes, including a number of intersections of semi-massive sulphide similar to that previously seen in hole MTRC018 – which returned 1m at 1.84% Ni, 4.88% Cu and 0.1% Co. This continues to demonstrate how prospective this extensive mineral system is and we’re hopeful of finding shallow high-grade pods of mineralisation as we narrow down this still fairly wide-spaced drilling. Western Mines Group managing director Dr Caedmon Marriott
The company’s target at the base of the Mulga Tank intrusion is relatively close to recent higher-grade geochemical results in its first EIS hole, with 88m at 0.44 per cent nickel and 0.015 per cent cobalt from 1212m. The deepest hole to date then yielded 96m at 0.4 per cent nickel and 0.016 per cent cobalt from 1208m, including 38m at 0.56 per cent nickel and 0.016 per cent cobalt from 1262m, with 8m at 1.11 per cent nickel and 0.018 per cent cobalt from 1270m.
Management believes the evidence uncovered at Mulga Tank to date suggests the potential for something similar to BHP-Billiton’s Perseverance mine in Leinster. The project also includes a raft of impressive neighbours including Kambalda Nickel Operations with its 35 million tonnes at 3.1 per cent nickel and the Mt Keith Mine with its 643.7 million tonnes going 0.58 per cent nickel.
Last year’s RC drilling ended on a high note. with nickel intercepts of 2m at 1.05 per cent in one hole and 1m at 1.19 per cent in another. Respective cumulative nickel intercepts from the two holes include impressive runs through the near-surface disseminated nickel zone of 168m at 0.29 per cent nickel and 159m at 0.29 per cent, with both holes ending in mineralisation.
Management will be hoping to replicate last year’s success when assay results from the latest 11 holes come back from the laboratory. The market also appears to be sharing Western Mines’ optimism this morning, with its share price lifting almost 10 per cent to touch 17c during intraday trading after a previous close of 15.5c – despite well-documented concern for the future of WA’s nickel industry.
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