Western Australian nickel company, St George Mining Limited has announced that drilling of multiple strong electromagnetic (EM) conductors has commenced at its flagship Mt Alexander Project.
St George’s Mt Alexander Project is located 120 kilometres south-southwest of the Agnew-Wiluna belt which hosts numerous world-class nickel deposits. The project comprises five granted exploration licences – E29/638, E29/548, E29/962, E29/954 and E29/972.
The company has commenced diamond drilling of new, strong EM conductors at the Investigators and West End Prospects.
Drilling is underway to test the strongest of five off-hole EM anomalies identified from the DHEM survey in MAD185. This target is modelled with conductivity of 33,100 Siemens and predicted to be intersected at 340 metre downhole.
Photo of drill core (PQ-size) from drill hole STD014 at Stricklands which intersected 14.1 metres of sulphide mineralisation from 36.5 metres downhole (true width and based on geological logging). The photo shows a core with massive nickel-copper sulphides at approximately 50.2 metres downhole. Assays are pending and required to confirm the metal values intersected by STD014. Image credit: St George Mining Limited.
The second target to be drilled will be the strongest of the two off-hole anomalies identified from the DHEM survey in MAD192. That conductor is modelled with conductivity of 55,550 Siemens and predicted to be intersected at 505 metre downhole.
St George said these conductors have an electrical signature consistent with massive sulphides. The company noted that each of MAD185 and MAD192 intersected thick mafic-ultramafic units with disseminated nickel-copper sulphides – indicative of a fertile intrusive with prospectivity for higher-grade mineralisation proximal to the hole.
St George Mining’s Executive Chairman, John Prineas, commented: “We are excited to start drilling of these powerful conductors and look forward to reporting results as drilling progresses.”
The company has also completed the drilling of metallurgical holes at the Stricklands Prospect. Seven diamond core (PQ-size) holes were drilled to provide samples of mineralisation for test work currently underway with XPS in Canada.
A total of 483.2 metres was drilled for these metallurgical holes – STD009, STD010, STD011, STD012, STYD013, STD014 and STD015. All drill holes were located within the existing resource envelope for Stricklands with abundant nickel-copper sulphides intersected for the required test work. The high-grade samples are now being prepared for transport to Canada.
“The thick nickel-copper sulphides at shallow depths intersected by the met holes is a reminder of the excellent high-grade mineralisation at Stricklands and its potential to support a robust starter mine,” he said.
“Our regional exploration is also progressing well, with potential for this work to deliver new nickel-copper sulphide targets across the broader tenement package.”
“With the nickel price continuing to rise, nickel demand for the EV market growing and a dearth of high-grade nickel sulphide exploration success across Australia, Mt Alexander is well-positioned to attract attention from investors looking for significant new high-grade nickel sulphide discoveries,” Mr Prineas concluded.
