Azure Minerals hits nickel-copper at depth within Andover, completes $37m placement

Azure Minerals (ASX: AZS) has confirmed nickel-copper mineralisation at its 60% owned Andover project now extends at depth and remains open.

The company revealed its most recent hole (number six) at the project intercepted a 53.6m-wide zone containing “significant” intervals of nickel-copper sulphides, including several zones of massive and semi-massive sulphides.

This hole was undertaken 53m below and down dip from similar mineralisation uncovered in hole number four.

Additionally, Azure noted the sulphide mineralisation in this latest hole was at the depth predicted from geophysical modelling and the fixed loop electromagnetic survey.

Azure managing director Tony Rovira pointed out hole number six had returned the thickest mineralised zone – suggesting mineralisation is not only open down dip but broadens as depth increases.

“Wherever we have drilled an EM conductor at Andover, we have intersected nickel-copper mineralisation.”

“We’re now stepping out to test the VC-07 conductor plate along strike to the west and if VC-07 continues to deliver similar mineralised intersections along its more than 1km length, there is the potential to define a substantial nickel-copper sulphide deposit at Andover,” Mr Rovira added.

Hole number seven is underway to test this conductor plate to the west.

Assays confirm nickel and copper

Azure has received assays from hole three, which confirm the presence of copper and nickel.

Highlight intervals were 2.5m at 1.1% nickel and 0.6% copper from 41.3m in matrix sulphides; 9.9m at 0.9% nickel and 0.3% copper from 62.1m in disseminated and blebby sulphides; and 4.6m at 2.1% nickel and 0.2% copper from 78.4m in massive, semi-massive and blebby sulphides.

The 4.6m zone contained the highest-grade nickel intersection identified to date of 0.85m at 4.09% nickel.

Investors back Azure with placement

Today’s positive drill results build on the company’s previous success at Andover and investors have thrown their support behind Azure in a $37 million placement led by Euroz Hartleys Securities.

Investors were offered up to 50 million Azure shares at $0.74 each to raise the $37 million, with the offer price representing an almost 10% discount to the company’s previous closing price of $0.82.

Mr Rovira noted the first five holes at Andover had been “exceptional” and said the placement proceeds would enable the company to engage more rigs to accelerate exploration across Andover.

He said placement proceeds would also be used to begin exploring its other high priority projects including Turner River, which is along strike of De Grey’s (ASX: DEG) Hemi discovery.