Western Mines Group unearths more visible nickel at Mulga Tank
Western Mines Group says it now holds a dominant 395sq km land position in the Minigwal Greenstone Belt.
Western Mines Group (ASX: WMG) has continued to unearth visible nickel sulphides during drilling at its flagship Mulga Tank nickel-copper-platinum group elements (PGE) project in Western Australia.
The company today reported a second diamond hole was successfully drilled to a 398-metre depth on the western margin of the intrusion, about 600m from the first.
At least four zones of visible nickel sulphides were identified down the hole with spot portable x-ray fluorescence (pXRF) readings of up to 17.9% nickel.
These latest results follow news earlier in the month that the first hole in a 10-hole drilling program at Mulga Tank hit two zones of high-tenor nickel sulphides with pXRF readings of up to 26% nickel.
Western Mines managing director Caedmon Marriott described the results as an encouraging start to the drilling program, confirming the company’s modelling of the intrusion and the prospectivity of the project for high-grade nickel sulphide mineralisation.
“Similar to the first hole, high-tenor nickel sulphide mineralisation was observed that appears to be remobilised given the blebby, veinlet and stockwork-like textures,” he said.
“Overall, the nickel mineralisation is more frequently occurring in this second hole compared to the first.”
Drilling program continues
Western Mines’ 10-hole drilling program is estimated to total 4,050m and aims to test numerous drill targets within the Mulga Tank project area.
This second hole was drilled to test the western margin of the Mulga Tank intrusion and the up-dip component of the W conductor.
The hole reportedly intersected 275m of variably altered and silicified mesocumulate dunite ultramafic, beneath 90.4m of sand cover, before encountering the contact margin with the footwall consisting of interbedded cherts and black shales at 365m depth.
The visible nickel sulphide zones were more frequently occurring in this hole than the initial hole.
The drilling rig has now started a third hole to the north to further test the western basal margin of the Mulga Tank intrusion. It will be drilled to a planned depth of 450m.
Western Mines said given the encouraging results so far, it is also beginning to consider further follow-up holes both infilling between, and at depth below, the first two holes.