Western Mines Group survey highlights promising nickel-copper-PGE targets at Mulga Tank
The series of geophysical surveys are intended to de-risk targets ahead of Western Mines’ planned maiden drilling program.
Exploration is progressing at Western Mines Group’s (ASX: WMG) flagship Mulga Tank nickel-copper-platinum group elements (PGE) project in Western Australia after an ongoing moving loop electromagnetic survey highlighted promising initial targets.
The survey crew has completed the southern sector of the intrusion covering an area of approximately 8.5 square kilometres and is currently infilling additional lines across bedrock conductor targets before moving to the central portion of the intrusion.
The company said a western anomaly appeared to be associated with results seen in a number of historical drill holes around its edge, including shallow holes by BHP Group (ASX: BHP) which returned 6 metres at 0.94% nickel from 63m, including 2m at 2% nickel from 67m to end of hole; and a vertical diamond hole by King Eagle Resources which returned 264m at 0.2% nickel from 68m including 2m at 0.92% nickel from 68m.
The recent acquisition of land covering approximately 37km of strike across the majority of the underexplored Minigwal Greenstone Belt created an additional “belt-scale” opportunity for the discovery of nickel-copper-PGE magmatic sulphide mineralisation.
The acquisition expanded the Mulga Tank project area from 113sq km to 395sq km and included a 12km trend of interpreted ultramafic bodies on the western basal portion of the belt which will be targeted during upcoming exploration programs.
Pavarotti project
Western Mines recently completed a historical review of the Pavarotti project, on the western side of the Koolyanobbing greenstone belt, which highlighted the area around the Jocks Fury gossan as being a highly-prospective primary exploration target.
The belt’s western basal ultramafic sequence has been explored intermittently for nickel sulphides since the 1960s, with the first nickel gossans and Kambalda-style channel-hosted mineralisation in komatiite ultramafic volcanics being identified by BHP.
The group completed a series of drilling programs over the North Range area of the Koolyanobbing Belt between 1968 and 1972 which identified the Jocks Dream deposit, as well as the Pavarotti and Jocks Fury prospects.
Historic results
Significant historic results from BHP’s work were 15.9m at 1.64% nickel and 0.19% copper from 32.2m including 4.3m at 3.38% nickel and 0.37% copper from 42.7m; 12.2m at 1.21% nickel and 0.13% copper from 1.5m including 3.1m at 1.7% nickel and 0.3% copper from 4.6m and 9.8m at 1.01% nickel from 68.3m.
At Jocks Fury, BHP returned results of 4.6m at 1.28% nickel, 597 parts per million copper and 293ppm cobalt from 42.7m; and 16.8m at 0.78% nickel, 360ppm copper and 285ppm cobalt from 12.2m including 3.1m at 1.6% nickel, 865ppm copper and 700ppm cobalt from 24.4m.
The North Range area was subsequently explored by Delta Gold from 1985 to 1996, largely focusing on the Jocks Dream deposit which lies outside Western Mines’ tenement area and after further drilling, determined a resource of 78,600 tonnes at 1.13% nickel and 0.1% copper.
Western Mines is planning an upcoming visit to the project area to investigate the Pavarotti and Jocks Fury gossans and locate historical drill holes.