NickelX completes infill auger drilling at high-priority Dalwallinu targets
Junior explorer NickelX (ASX: NKL) has completed a detailed infill auger drilling program over four high-priority targets at its Dalwallinu project in Western Australia, which is prospective for Julimar-style nickel-copper-platinum group element (PGE) mineralisation.
Gyro Australia was contracted to complete the work.
Soil sampling was undertaken on 50 metre by 50m spacings to extend the targets, defined through a recent close-spaced drone magnetic survey.
Previous surface sampling on a 100m by 200m grid recorded some of the highest PGE results in the Western Yilgarn region, including 73.7 parts per billion platinum and palladium (with a 5 kilometre north-south strike grading more than 10ppb), 466ppm nickel and 843ppm copper.
Well-defined targets
NickelX managing director Matt Gauci said the auger program had progressed to plan.
“The combination of historical and current soil samples points to some very well-defined exploration targets seeking Julimar-style mineralisation,” he said.
“Our exploration team completed the program safely and efficiently and we look forward to the receipt of assays to enhance the prospectivity of the four high priority targets.”
Underexplored location
The Dalwallinu project covers 86 square kilometres of the underexplored Barra Barra Greenstone belt.
It is located 150km northeast of the world-class Julimar project owned by Chalice Mining (ASX: CHN).
NickelX is using a number of exploration techniques to vector in on prospective nickel-copper-PGE targets, including overlaying historic auger geochemistry data onto new drone magnetic data.
This has highlighted that the Barra Barra intrusive represents an apparent folded intrusive body horizon just outboard and bordering the main folded magnetic strata.
NickelX said it may represent a sill-like body lying structurally below and folded with the magnetic strata.
Based on geological interpretations, four areas were highlighted around this horizon with anomalous nickel-copper-PGE values and represent priority targets for follow-up exploration.
The margins of the antiform folded magnetic body in the west of the project area will also be further explored.