Lunnon Metals hits high-grade nickel in shoot near old Foster mine
Drilling at Lunnon Metals’ Kambalda nickel project unearthed 8.72m at 3.54% nickel, including 2.33m at 4.41% nickel at the Warren target.
Explorer Lunnon Metals (ASX: LM8) has hit 4.41% nickel in the Warren shoot near the old Foster mine within its wider Kambalda nickel project in Western Australia.
Drilling intercepted 8.72m of mineralisation grading 3.54% nickel from 353.05m, including 2.33m at 4.41% nickel from 359.44m.
Lunnon has identified Warren, along with the Baker target, as high priority.
After listing on the ASX last June, Lunnon is focused on the Kambalda nickel district of Western Australia, with the mineral belt running 70km south from the Kambalda township.
The district has produced 1.6 million tonnes of nickel since the first discovery in 1966 by the former major, Western Mining Corporation (WMC).
That company worked the historic Foster mine between 1981 and 1994.
The Warren shoot, named Foster NW by WMC, was accessed by an independent decline branching off the main Foster decline near to its portal, and limited development and stoping occurred before an uncontrolled water flooding required the area to be blocked off.
Lunnon says it is interpreted that the Warren shoot ore trough runs sub-parallel to, and potentially, the entirety of the Foster Main trough and may be a significant source of future nickel discovery in its own right.
Lunnon aims at being key nickel player
Lunnon’s plan is to ride the current nickel wave, with the metal hitting a three-month price of US$20,700 per tonne on 31 December.
More significant, however, is the fact that London Metal Exchange nickel inventories have halved since August, and now stand at 101,886t.
“The company’s primary aim is to become the owner of sufficient nickel minerals resources via discovery and development, to be a key player in the resurgence of the nickel sector,” Lunnon stated.
Momentum building at Warren
In terms of the new assay results from Warren, the latest intersection also returned elevated platinum and palladium levels, at 0.64 grams per tonne and 1.43g/t respectively.
Lunnon managing director Ed Ainscough says the results give great encouragement for follow up drilling.
“We made a decision to focus our more recent sample dispatch on just the mineralised zones within each drill hole and it’s starting to pay off with much quicker turnaround times for the high priority programs,” he added.
“We are starting to build momentum at Warren now.”
Lunnon Metals holds 100% of its Kambalda nickel project, although a subsidiary of South Africa’s Gold Fields retains gold rights on parts of the tenements.
Results also just in for other targets
Results have also been coming in from lesser priority targets.
Some of the eight holes at the Jan target hit nickel at near surface, including 11m at 0.73% (from 18m down hole), 5m at 0.97% (from 39m), and 11m at 0.61% (from 52m).
However, while four holes at Somerset returned no significant assays, the company says this target will be reassessed for drilling within and between historic WMC drilling.