Aeromagnetic survey detects similar Stanton cobalt targets for Northern Cobalt at Wollogorang

Northern Cobalt (ASX: N27) has completed an aeromagnetic survey totalling 1,720 square kilometres across its flagship Wollogorang cobalt project in the Northern Territory, with the survey revealing “multiple prospective” targets similar in nature or larger than the primary Stanton deposit.

According to Northern Cobalt, the survey extends the earlier 2017 survey 20-fold and was completed over prospective tenements surrounding Stanton.

“The geophysics program has been very successful in identifying multiple new targets similar or larger in scale to Northern Cobalt’s existing Stanton Cobalt deposit, highlighting the prospectivity of large parts of the project area and the potential of this underexplored region,” Northern Cobalt managing director Michael Schwarz said.

The NT government granted Northern Cobalt A$100,000 towards funding the survey, with drilling of the newly identified targets to be carried out alongside existing targets throughout the remainder of the year.

Deeper drilling to start at Wollogorang

Today’s news follows last week’s announcement that Northern Cobalt has received assays for more than half of the 919 reconnaissance holes its completed this field season at Wollogorang, with cobalt intersected in more than 20% of the holes.

The company is carrying out a shallow air core drilling program in an attempt to explore as much ground as quickly as possible across its large Wollogorang tenement package which stretches around 5,000 square kilometres.

Of the 623 assays received to date, 128 have returned cobalt grading higher than 100 parts per million.

According to Northern Cobalt, this compares favourably with the similar shallow samples that were taken from the flagship Stanton cobalt deposit which averaged 147ppm cobalt.

Northern Cobalt has now published a resource for the Stanton cobalt deposit which totals 942,000t grading 0.13% cobalt, 0.06% nickel and 0.12% copper for 1,200t of contained cobalt.

These latest results indicate “significant cobalt mineralisation” may be found at depth, with deeper drilling at these targets to begin next week.

The current campaign has drilled to an average 5m depth to access the mineralisation below overlying sand and clays.

Follow-up exploration at the anomalous cobalt targets will comprise drilling to 40m depths, with those targets that indicate potential to host economic resources to be reverse circulation drilled to 100m.

Northern Cobalt expects drilling across the project will continue until the wet season advances in the region, which is usually around November.

Wollogorang cobalt project

To-date, mineralisation primarily identified at Wollogorang is sediment-hosted and non-refractory.

Additionally, where the Stanton resource has been defined, mineralisation extends from surface to 90m depths, which is amenable to an open pit operation.

Mr Schwarz said the shallow and non-refractory nature of the cobalt mineralisation could result in lower capital required to develop and operate a cobalt mine at the project.

He added the style of mineralisation was similar to that found in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but without the sovereign risk.