Western Mines Group says it has further renewed its confidence in the potential of its Mulga Tank project in Western Australia’s Goldfields region after unveiling the presence of matrix to semi-massive nickel sulphide mineralisation exceeding 4.5 per cent nickel.
Management says two new reverse-circulation (RC) holes exhibit broad zones of that mineralisation style, with associated copper and platinum group element (PGE) anomalism and a calculated 23 per cent nickel tenor, which it says is remarkably high for komatiitic nickel systems.
The first hole stepped out about 200m west of a phase-one RC hole that had reported 35m at 0.45 per cent nickel from 162m, including 13m going 0.53 per cent from 183m depth. It bored its way through 199m at an overall grade of 0.31 per cent nickel, 148 parts per million cobalt, 76ppm copper and 23 parts per billion combined platinum and palladium.
Management says the hole is of particular interest and confirms the matrix to semi-massive sulphides noted in its visual assessment of drill chips and logging.
The intercept included 5m at 0.51 per cent nickel from 202m including 1m at 1.28 per cent nickel from 202m. It also includes 44m running 0.44 per cent nickel from 241m with 3m going 2.19 per cent from 253m and also features 1m at a startling 4.51 per cent from 253m.
The second hole also stepped back to the west about 200m from a previous deep diamond hole that probed 130m at 0.31 per cent nickel from 116m including 13m at 0.35 per cent from 157m and 158m at 0.27 per cent from 262m. It drove through a cumulative 115m at 0.28 per cent nickel, 133ppm cobalt, 51ppm copper and 27ppb combined platinum and palladium.
The cumulative interval comprises multiple nickel intercepts including 34m at 0.26 per cent from 108m including 3m at 0.40 per cent from 135m. It also shows a further 64m at 0.31 per cent nickel from 216m including 8m going 0.41 per cent from 220m, 1m at 1.14 per cent from 220m and another 1m at 0.85 per cent from 269m.
A final 17m at 0.25 per cent nickel from 295m augments the long run of mineralisation.
These assay results are a fantastic start to the Phase 2 RC work and validate our approach with this program. The initial 17 holes look to infill and extend the higher-grade core area and increase confidence in the zone. We hope that as drilling density increases there will be a good chance of hitting more of these high-grade targets.
Western Mines Group managing director Dr Caedmon Marriott
The company aimed the phase-two, 17-hole program at closing-up the drilling pattern to infill and extend the high-grade core it had defined in the centre of its broad zone of deeper mineralisation at the project, which is located near Lake Minigwal in the Eastern Goldfields region. It had identified the zone in several deeper RC and diamond holes put in last year to determine not only the presence and grade of nickel, but also to establish the overall shape and orientation of the Mulga Tank intrusive dunite.
Much of that drilling had also pierced an extensive overlying thick zone of lower-grade disseminated nickel not far below the extensive surficial sand cover, averaging about 60m deep, which indicates good potential.
Management says its latest RC drilling also seemed to more frequently intersect zones of high-grade matrix to semi massive sulphide at about 180m to 280m depth. It now believes even modest improvements in the width of its high-grade intersections could change the game for the project.
In the past year, Western Mines has proven the existence of significant nickel sulphide mineralisation and an extensive nickel sulphide mineral system within its Mulga Tank ultramafic complex. The project appears to be a gift that keeps on giving with almost every hole to date producing results that keep keen observers waiting for the next turn of the drill bit.
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