Thick nickel zones add muscle to Western Mines WA giant
Western Mines Group (ASX: WMG) has rounded out a phase-five reverse circulation (RC) drilling campaign at its flagship Mulga Tank nickel project in Western Australia’s Eastern Goldfields, with all seven final holes returning impressively broad zones of nickel sulphide mineralisation.
The company says the latest results continue to demonstrate the gargantuan scale of the extensive mineral system at Mulga Tank, with the new data now set to be incorporated into an upgraded mineral resource estimate and a subsequent scoping study.
Standout results from the final batch of assays include a hefty 186 metres grading 0.30 per cent nickel, 145 parts per million (ppm) cobalt, 101ppm copper and 28 parts per billion (ppb) combined platinum and palladium from 109m downhole. That run contains multiple higher-grade zones, including 10m at 0.50 per cent nickel from 157m and a longer run of 28m going 0.37 per cent nickel, 142ppm cobalt, 93ppm copper and a combined 36ppb platinum and palladium from 207m.
Another hole returned a cumulative run of 172m at 0.29 per cent nickel, including a shallow high-grade intercept of 5m at 0.77 per cent nickel from 104m, which in turn hosted a stellar two-metre section going 1.29 per cent nickel from 107m.
A third significant hole delivered a monster continuous run of 219m assaying 0.26 per cent nickel from a depth of just 81m. All seven holes drilled in the final batch showed broad zones of nickel mineralisation, with cumulative mineralised intersections ranging from 129m up to the longest 219m run.
The latest drilling was mainly focused on infill and follow-up work within the project’s current resource area, in addition to testing for extensions to the south.
The results land at a time when market commentary suggests the nickel market is firming, with some forecasters lifting price expectations amid moves by major producer Indonesia to tighten its own ore quotas.
All seven holes showed broad zones of mineralisation, with MTRC090 and MTRC091 returning the strongest results with multiple shallow intersections of higher-grade ~0.4% Ni results. The 32 holes from the Phase 4 and 5 programs will be incorporated into a new Mineral Resource Estimate in the next couple of weeks. This will hopefully upgrade and expand on the original Resource based on 58 holes up until Phase 3. The results of the updated Mineral Resource will feed into Scoping Study work. Western Mines Group Managing Director Caedmon Marriott
The company’s Mulga Tank project is centred on a major ultramafic complex on the under-explored Minigwal Greenstone Belt. Exploration has defined a large, disseminated nickel sulphide system which management believes is highly prospective for a globally significant deposit.
The project currently holds a staggering resource of more than 5 million tonnes of contained nickel and results from the 32 holes drilled across the recently completed phase four and five programs are expected to significantly build on that figure.
With the final assays now in hand, Western Mines is charging ahead on multiple fronts. The company is preparing its updated mineral resource estimate, which will form the basis of a mine plan to feed into a maiden scoping study for the project.
In parallel, an active seismic survey is planned to kick off in the coming weeks, co-funded by the WA Government’s Exploration Incentive Scheme (EIS), designed to image the architecture of the ultramafic complex to help target deeper, high-grade “Perseverance-style” massive nickel sulphide deposits.
With a resource that continues to grow, a firming nickel market backdrop and a pipeline of work including a resource update, scoping study and a detailed, deep-probing seismic survey, Western Mines appears to have plenty of news flow on the horizon. Keen market observers and academics alike are all likely hanging in to see just how big this Mulga Tank nickel body can get.
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