Australian Mines shores up cobalt prospectivity at Thackaringa

Dual-listed polymetallic explorer Australian Mines (ASX: AUZ) is currently pouring over geophysical and electromagnetic data, which it claims confirms that its Thackaringa project in New South Wales most likely hosts a “massive sulphide body”.

A pure greenfields cobalt exploration project, Australian Mines wholly-owns Thackaringa, “with no attaching royalties or claw-back measures”. The company’s tenements adjoin nearby cobalt explorer Cobalt Blue’s (ASX: COB) Railway and Pyrite Hill projects.

Following its recently-completed high-resolution fixed loop electromagnetic (FLEM) survey at Thackaringa, Australian Mines said that similar survey results near Broken Hill in NSW were indicative of significant cobalt-bearing mineralisation.

The junior explorer said that modelling of the recently-received FLEM survey data indicates that a conductive body is located at a shallow depth of merely 100m below the surface and dipping 50-70 degrees towards the southeast.

Low-hanging cobalt potential

One of the most encouraging developments for the explorer is the discovery of particularly sulphide-rich anomaly called “BR_02_CC”.

Australian Mines thinks this particular anomaly could glean amiable test results in the weeks to come and is quietly confident this anomaly could help raise its reported resource at Thackaringa in the months to come after official test results have been recorded, collated and published.

An independent geophysical consultant has recommended follow-up drilling to determine which type of sulphide may be the source of the FLEM response with several anomalies likely to be probed in addition to the handful of FLEM responses seen and reported.

In addition to the geophysical survey program, Australian Mines is also continuing its soil and surface sampling program at Thackaringa, which is designed to evaluate the entire tenement package.

Having completed a sampling program at two of its target areas, dubbed Target Area A and B, Australian Mines has now set to work on Target Area C which is expected for completion later this month and for results expected to be published in June 2018.

“Although advancing exploration at Thackaringa, in terms of priorities, it is ranked behind completing our feasibility study at the Sconi Cobalt-Nickel-Scandium Project in Queensland and the resource expansion programs at both our Sconi and the Flemington Cobalt-Scandium-Nickel Project in NSW, the results of our recent geophysical survey absolutely warrant follow-up with a maiden drill program to test the BR_02_CC anomaly,” Australian Mines managing director Benjamin Bell said.

“This region, near Broken Hill, is well-endowed with cobalt-bearing sulphide geology, and to see the potential of the area you only need to look at the recent announcement from our immediate tenement neighbour Cobalt Blue, which upgraded the tonnage of its Thackaringa cobalt resource by 31%, off the back of recent drilling,” added Mr Bell.

By late morning trade, Australian Mines’ share price had dipped 1.15% to A$0.086.