Mining

Drilling results confirm high-grade mineralisation at Azure Minerals’ Andover nickel-copper project

Go to Imelda Cotton author's page
By Imelda Cotton - 
Azure Minerals ASX AZS Andover nickel copper sulphide mineralisation assays

Initial drilling at Azure’s Andover project has intercepted 22.4m at 1.02% nickel and 0.55% copper, including 3.9m at 2.85% nickel and 0.47% copper.

Copied

Assays from a maiden drilling program by Azure Minerals (ASX: AZS) at the Andover project near Karratha in WA have confirmed the presence of high-grade nickel-copper sulphide mineralisation.

The company’s first diamond drill hole at Andover intersected 3.9m at 2.85% nickel and 0.47% copper from 94.5m in massive sulphides, contained with a broader interval of 22.4m at 1.02% nickel and 0.55% copper from 81.6m.

A second zone of massive and matrix sulphides within the hole intersected 5m at 2.09% nickel and 1.14% copper from 116m, contained within a broader interval of 11.3m at 1.21% nickel and 0.66% copper from 110m.

Both zones were contained within an overall mineralised envelope of 39.7m at 0.95% nickel and 0.52% copper from 81.6m.

Other holes

Azure’s second diamond hole uncovered 4.6m at 2.41% nickel and 0.48% copper from 113m in semi-massive and matrix sulphides, contained within a broader interval of 13.6m at 1.19% nickel and 0.38% copper from 104m.

Assays for the third hole are pending, while a fourth drill hole – designed to test an entirely new target zone defined by a strong electromagnetic conductor – is nearing completion.

Substantial resource

Managing director Tony Rovira said the results have improved Azure’s confidence in the Andover’s potential to host a substantial nickel-copper resource.

“While we are still at an early stage of our exploration, intersecting good widths of nickel and copper sulphide mineralisation at shallow depths bodes well for further success,” he said.

“It has encouraged us to drill test the electromagnetic conductors along strike and down-dip from our earlier holes [to explore] the potential for a sizeable deposit typical of other layered mafic-ultramafic-hosted nickel-copper discoveries in WA.”

Exploration program

Azure commenced its exploration program at Andover in August, comprising surface electromagnetic surveys (FLTEM) covering 12 targets across the project area; diamond core drilling of at least 12 holes for approximately 3,000m to test FLTEM conductor plates; and downhole electromagnetic surveying of the holes to identify additional off-hole conductors.

FLTEM survey results and geophysical modelling confirmed the presence of numerous high-quality conductor anomalies interpreted to represent bodies of bedrock-hosted sulphide mineralisation.

Drilling to test the higher-priority anomalies is being planned for the new year.