Western Mines Group builds case for large-scale mineral system at Mulga Tank

Western Mines Group (ASX: WMG) has observed a very thick disseminated sulphide zone during drilling at its Mulga Tank nickel-copper-platinum group element project, which managing director Caedmon Marriott says clearly indicates a large-scale mineral system.

The company has completed a further three diamond holes at Mulga Tank, with hole MTD020 intercepting 300m of disseminated magmatic sulphides, which has been described as the “clearest indication to date” of a magmatic sulphide system within the project.

Mr Marriott said MTD020 had been drilled to a total depth of 564.4m and was designed to test beneath a historical hole that hit numerous intervals of nickel-copper-PGE mineralisation.

These intervals had returned 1m at 1.95% nickel and 0.21 grams per tonne platinum-plus-palladium from 103m; 1m at 0.83% nickel and 0.18g/t platinum-plus-palladium from 114m; and 0.5m at 1.18% nickel and 0.1g/t platinum-plus-palladium from 211.7m.

Mr Marriott said the visible disseminated sulphides seen throughout the wide 300m zone in MTD020 was “very exciting” and provides “great encouragement” for the prospectivity of the project to contain Mount Keith-style, or Perseverance-style nickel sulphide deposits.

Preliminary readings

To assist with its drilling program, Western Mines has a portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) device on site.

Using the pXRF, the company undertook spot readings of MTD020 core and from the other two holes.

A total of 1,131 readings were taken of MTD020 and averaged 0.26% nickel. Of the individual spot readings, a peak 37.5% nickel was returned.

The rig has moved to the northwest and has begun drilling the next hole.

Western Mines is completing a 10-hole diamond drilling program at the project for a total 4,050m.

The program is testing drill targets that have been generated from geological work completed earlier this year.

Mulga Tank is located on Western Australia’s Minigwal Greenstone Belt, in what is described as the underexplored part of the eastern Yilgarn Craton.

Mount Keith and Perseverance

Mount Keith and Perseverance are giant nickel deposits in the Yilgarn Craton.

BHP (ASX: BHP) operates Mount Keith as part of its Nickel West operations and closed Perseverance in late 2013.