Venus Metals pegs new ground in WA hunt for base metals and rare earths

Venus Metals Corporation (ASX: VMC) has been granted new exploration ground in the north west of Western Australia in an area prospective for nickel, copper, platinum, palladium, gold and rare earth elements (REE).

The granted tenement EL 09/2422, along with three additional licence applications, are in the name of Venus’ wholly-owned subsidiary Redscope Enterprises and cover 546 sq km in the state’s Gascoyne region.

According to the explorer, several northwest trending Narimbunna igneous intrusives (dolerite and gabbro sills) and north-northeast trending Mundine Well dolerites, dykes, sills and small intrusions located within the project area are considered “highly prospective for magmatic nickel-copper-platinum-palladium mineralisation similar to that discovered in the Money Intrusion.

The area, which Venus has named the Mangaroon North project, is also considered prospective for gold mineralisation along strike of the historical high-grade Star of Mangaroon gold mine and at structural targets along several shear and fault zones that transect the tenements.

Venus said initial field mapping, rock chip sampling and geochemical surveys on the granted licence will target potential nickel-copper-platinum-palladium mineralisation associated with mafic intrusives identified from geological maps and geophysical data provided by the WA Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DMIRS).

Ground borders with Dreadnought’s Mangaroon project

The Mangaroon North granted licence and one of Venus’ applications adjoin the Mangaroon project, a joint venture between Dreadnought Resources (ASX: DRE) and TSX-listed First Quantum Minerals. First Quantum is earning an initial 51% interest in the project by spending $15 million on exploration.

The partners are targeting magmatic nickel-copper-platinum-palladium mineralisation associated with the mafic-ultramafic Money Intrusion.

Dreadnought recently identified gossanous outcrop over 1km strike at Bookathanna Bore in the northern part of the Money Intrusion with significant rock chip results of up to 1% copper, 0.6% nickel, 0.04% cobalt and 0.3 grams per tonne platinum-palladium-gold. This outcrop is located about 3km east of Venus’ ground.

In a separate announcement today, Dreadnought reported high-grade REE ironstones confirmed over about 2.5km of strike at the Yin prospect within its Mangaroon project.

Significant rock chip results included 7.5% total rare earth oxides (TREO) including 2.73% neodymium-praseodymium, and 4.77% TREO including 1.84% neodymium-praseodymium.

Rare earths potential

Another two licences in application, ELA 08/3375 and ELA 09/2541, are in an area considered prospective for REEs.

The latter application is located some 10km north of the Yangibana carbonatite field and is considered prospective for carbonatite-hosted REE mineralisation, with targets identified in the southern section of the tenement along east-southeast-west-northwest trends in the magnetic imagery that may potentially represent carbonatite sills within the Durlacher Supersuite, showing a similar orientation to the Yangibana carbonatites to the south.