Auroch cranks out more WA nickel hits at Saints
Auroch Minerals has booked more high-grade nickel sulphide results at its Saints nickel project in WA, following on from impressive intersections reported just a fortnight ago. Diamond drilling at both the Saint Andrews and Saint Patricks orebodies has yielded some high-grade results as the company looks to complete a scoping study over the wider Saints project in WA’s northern goldfields.
The drill-hole, part of the current infill programme, intersected massive nickel sulphides in two zones according to the company, both in the upper hanging-wall zone and in the lower zone just above the basal contact. Auroch said assays are still pending for several mineralised samples immediately above the intersection that could further increase the width of the upper mineralised zone.
The company is aiming to upgrade the current Saints mineral resource estimate, or “MRE” of 1.02 million tonnes at 2.0 per cent nickel for 21,400 tonnes of contained nickel from an Inferred Resource category to a predominantly Indicated Resource category. Late last month, Auroch reported two diamond drill holes into the neighbouring Saint Patricks orebody that successfully intersected massive nickel sulphides on the basal contact.
With a super charged nickel price re-writing records and headlines across the globe, Auroch may have picked the right time to start putting some serious numbers into the scoping study for its Saints nickel project.
CREDIT – Bulls N Bears
KalGold set to continue Kalgoorlie drilling campaign
Junior gold explorer Kalgoorlie Gold Mining, or KalGold has locked in a diamond rig and RC rig to continue the drilling onslaught following in the wake of a 3,519 metre program at the company’s flagship Bulong Taurus gold project near Kalgoorlie in WA. Although Bulong Taurus continues to be the primary focus for KalGold, its other WA projects will also be receiving attention over coming months.
The next contender set to feel the hard edge of the drill bit will be Ninga Mia – an extension of the famed golden mile and Kalgoorlie super pit. Pending government approval of a program of works, the initial RC drill program set to commence at Ninga Mia in May will chase around 30 targets which have already identified. Also under the microscope is KalGold’s Perrinvale gold project sitting about 80km west of Leonora. A high-resolution magnetics dataset has been received with gold targeting and drill planning now underway. An aircore program is expected to commence in the second quarter of 2022.
Having only listed on the ASX in November 2021, KalGold has launched straight into a drilling bombardment at its flagship Bulong Taurus gold project. After hitting gold in its first pass drill program late last year the drill rig hasn’t stopped spinning, amassing a serious quantity of assays at the lab. With those results expected back shortly, the stage is set for an exciting couple of months for this busy explorer.
Torian Resources hits fresh Mt Stirling gold
Precious metals and rare earths explorer Torian Resources has continued its purple patch of form by tabling further high-grade gold results from recent resource and extensional drilling at its flagship Mt Stirling/Viserion project approximately 40km northwest of Leonora in WA. The string of recent high-grade gold hits form part of a 17,500m drilling onslaught and add to a long list of solid results the company expects will give its current global mineral resource estimate a healthy boost. Torian is looking to deliver a revised figure in the first quarter of this year.
Interestingly, the upcoming resource estimate will include a sequence of results that were not included in the previous announcement from May 2021. The new series of high-grade results will be included together with the plethora of results produced during the recent drilling bombardment at Mt Stirling. The company has been providing a solid slew of news flow in recent months with four rigs on the go across the Mt Stirling, Viserion and Skywing gold targets along with auger vacuum drilling that is extending the footprint of the exciting Yttria rare earths discovery.
The project has an enviable address with several significant gold deposits sitting nearby to Mt Stirling, the most notable being Red 5 Limited’s King of the Hills mine, where a whopping 4.1-million-ounce gold resource has been defined.
New nickel targets boost St George at Mt Alexander
St George Mining has identified new priority nickel-copper-PGE targets at its flagship high-grade Mt Alexander project near Menzies in Western Australia. A Seismic survey has indicated large intrusion structures prospective for nickel sulphides have the potential to host significant volumes of mineralisation.
The company has announced drilling is now underway on the first of five targets with management saying existing high-grade nickel-copper-PGE deposits at Stricklands and Cathedrals in the Cathedrals Belt will be the subject of resource definition to assess the potential for a starter mine. Four of the targets are located on ground 100 per cent owned by St George. The seismic surveys to date cover only 3 kilometres of the more than 15km of strike length for the mineralised belts.
St George interpret the structures as continuing beyond the seismic survey area in line with magnetic survey data suggesting there may be plenty to get excited about as the project develops. St George has a strong geological team that has considerable local nickel sulphide experience with WMC and Western Areas.
With the addition of new priority targets and the discovery of several parallel mineralised belts, St George is turbo-charging its push for a new nickel-copper-PGE mining operation in Western Australia.
KalGold launches follow up WA gold drilling blitz
Kalgoorlie Gold Mining has launched a second RC drill campaign to follow up its initial successes achieved at the company’s La Mascotte and Great Ophir prospects within its Bulong Taurus project just 35kms east of Kalgoorlie. Drilling at Bulong Taurus is primarily aimed at building on the success of the first drill program by targeting extensions of known mineralisation.
A strong focus will be on the area south of KalGold’s outcropping La Mascotte gold prospect that was recently defined through geophysical, geological and historic drill dataset analysis. Curiously, gold nuggets from the new target area south of La Mascotte were located recently by prospectors and display an angular shape, indicating they originated locally and have not been transported far according to the company.
KalGold only listed on the ASX in November last year and the company has wasted no time getting stuck into a drilling blitz that is already onto its second pass. Gold hits from the first pass at Bulong Taurus returned some very encouraging results and with refined targeting strategies underway, the second round of drilling may well set the scene for further potential successes for the newly minted WA based junior explorer.
CREDIT – BULLS N BEAR
Western Mines kicks up high-grade gold hits in WA
Western Mines’ maiden reverse circulation, or “RC” drilling program at its Rock of Ages gold play, located some 30 kilometres southeast of Laverton near the historic Burtville mining centre, has returned multiple high-grade intercepts. At the interestingly titled Rock of Ages gold project the company chalked up its first drill project within seven weeks of listing completing five holes for a total of 654m.
In an impressive strike rate, Western Mines intercepted anomalous gold in every drill hole. The company’s tenure covers a mere 10 hectares within the Merolia Domain of the Burtville Terrane in the Laverton Greenstone Belt. Gold production from the belt has been slated at in excess of 28 million ounces.
The freshly minted gold and base metals explorer has been working feverishly since its July listing on the ASX. In the months following its debut Western Mines has boosted its tenure around its flagship Mulga Tank nickel-copper-PGE project, consolidated its landholding at the Jasper Hill gold project and wrapped up a string of exploration projects at its Melita gold-copper-lead-zinc play.
With a smorgasbord of gold and battery metal commodities at its disposal scattered over premium parcels of tenure and a pocket full of cash from its recent listing, it seems Western Mines has all its soldiers lined up as it marches into 2022.
CREDIT – Bulls N Bears – West Australian
