Western Mines adds 250m WA nickel extension to Mulga Tank

Western Mines Group has revealed more broad nickel sulphide intercepts in all five of its remaining phase-three reverse-circulation (RC) drillholes in the south-east of the grid across its Mulga Tank ultramafic complex in Western Australia’s Eastern Goldfields region.

The company says the results, which come from part of an infill and extension RC drilling campaign comprising 19 holes for 6002m, represent a significant extension south and east of the known disseminated nickel sulphide mineralisation in the upper levels of the complex and strongly hint at further potential in the same direction.

The isolated greenstone complex sits about 190km east/north-east of Kalgoorlie in the Duketon Domain, which is part of the Eastern Goldfields province in the Yilgarn craton.

The results for the remaining five holes show that they all encountered significant sulphide mineralisation, with four of them reporting runs of more than 200m in sulphides. Management says all of the nickel results are also accompanied by anomalous or key indicator associations of sulphur and the associated chalcophile elements of copper, cobalt and platinum group elements (PGEs).

Some of these holes are well outside the area modelled in our JORC Exploration Target, but yet again we are still seeing nickel sulphide mineralisation and the system just keeps getting bigger. Various intersections of higher-grade results may provide vectors to further pods or zones of richer material.

In the northernmost line of two of the final five holes of the phase-three campaign, the western hole bored its way through a continuous 192m at 0.28 per cent nickel from 114m and ended in mineralisation. It carried multiple intercepts ranging in width from 3m to 15m and included highlights of 3m at 0.47 per cent nickel and 15m at 0.32 per cent.

Its companion about 200m to the east reamed out an impressive continuous 205m going 0.28 per cent nickel from 87m and ended in mineralisation. The best grade intercept was 21m at 0.37 per cent nickel from 189m.

Three holes make up the southernmost fence of three remaining drillholes.

The eastern hole cut out a cumulative 156m at 0.27 per cent nickel, jagging a best intercept of 26m at 0.28 per cent nickel from 258m and ending in mineralisation. It reported a best-grade intercept running 1 per cent nickel and interestingly, combined PGEs in that hole ran to an eye-catching 1m at 0.31 grams per tonne PGE.

The central hole in the southern line probed 200m at 0.28 per cent nickel from 100m and ended in mineralisation. The best grade came in a 2m intercept assaying 0.34 per cent nickel, while the best length was 11m at 0.34 per cent.

The gangbuster hole of the program came in at the eastern end of the southern line with a whopping continuous 216m at 0.3 per cent nickel from a shallow 84m and ended in mineralisation. It features a veritable string of multiple intercepts including 1m at 2.46 per cent nickel from 183m, while the longest continuous run is 11m going 0.63 per cent nickel.

The hole is the best of the latest batch of results, returning several higher-grade intervals that show the extensive system is capable of producing some strong nickel and copper grades. The results in their entirety point to a highly-fertile nickel system.

The company says sectional data depicts remarkable continuity and consistency that can only be described as a massive and virtually uniform “tabular slab” of disseminated nickel mineralisation.

Most significantly, the results indicate that Western Mines is at some stage likely to have to drill one or two additional lines to the south of the current grid pattern over the southern part of the complex.

And given the massive response from the south-easternmost 216m deep hole from the latest program, it would also be hard to resist the temptation of extending one or both of those lines eastwards for about 500m to see if the seemingly pervasive nickel mineralisation extends even further to the south and east.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@wanews.com.au