Sultan Resources presents WA project hosting ground similar to Julimar discovery

Sultan Resources (ASX: SLZ) has declared its Lake Grace project in Western Australia forms part of an interpreted mobile zone that hosts the Julimar nickel-cobalt-platinum group elements (PGE) discovery made earlier this year.

The company added that, as a result of the discovery, its portfolio of tenements is now being surrounded by major mining and exploration companies.

The announcement is referring to Chalice Gold Mines’ (ASX: CHN) Julimar discovery made in March. Chalice’s share price soared when the company announced it had struck a massive sulphide zone with its first ever drill hole at the geographically large Julimar project, located 70km from Perth.

The intersection was hit at 48m below ground and returned 19m at 2.59% nickel, 1.04% copper, 8.37 grams per tonne palladium and 1.11g/t platinum.

Sultan Resources owns a 690sq km portfolio that it claims is highly prospective for gold mineralisation and also contains historically drilled ultramafic rocks showing evidence of nickel and cobalt-bearing sulphides.

The southwest Yilgarn Terrane, a part of the Yilgarn Craton, hosts not only the Julimar discovery but Newmont Mining’s Boddington gold deposit — but, in Sultan’s view, the area remains under-explored.

Land rush following the Julimar discovery

Sultan said following Chalice’s discovery, there has been a rush to secure tenure in the southwest Yilgarn, particularly across a southeast-trending zone that is interpreted to represent a major crustal boundary, or mobile zone, within the area.

“This zone hosts Julimar and also encompasses Sultan’s entire Lake Grace tenement portfolio,” the company stated.

Recent exploration applications have been lodged by global mining company Anglo American covering 10,130sq km, extending southeast over a strike length of more than 225km and which abut Sultan’s tenure to the north and west.

Impact Minerals (ASX: IPT) has applied for 1,900sq km after interpreting a zone that may contain nickel-copper and PGE.

Gold Road Resources (ASX: GOR) also has a large gold exploration joint venture in the area.

This week, Chalice – the 100% owner of the Julimar project – also secured an option to earn up to a 70% stake in Venture Minerals’ (ASX: VMS) nearby ‘lookalike’ project.

Sultan’s exploration portfolio

Sultan Resources is an Australian focused exploration company with a portfolio of quality assets in emerging discovery terranes including porphyry gold-copper, structurally hosted gold, nickel, cobalt and base metals.

Its assets include tenements located in the Lachlan Fold Belt of Central New South Wales as well as projects located within the southern terrane region of the Yilgarn Craton in south and south-eastern WA.