Step-out Drill Hole Intersects High Tenor Massive Sulphides 200m Beyond Current Resource
Kambalda nickel producer Mincor Resources NL (ASX: MCR) has identified the potential for a major extension to its
70%-owned Carnilya Hill nickel deposit in Western Australia after intersecting massive sulphides grading over 17% nickel down-plunge of the existing deposit.
The new result comes as Mincor moves towards a development decision at Carnilya Hill, expected within the next four weeks, as part of its aggressive nickel growth strategy in the Kambalda region.
Mincor said today (Tuesday) that it had completed a 792.4-metre deep diamond drill hole on a major step-out position at Carnilya Hill, with the new hole intersecting a narrow zone of very high tenor massive sulphide mineralisation some 230 metres beyond the limits of the current mineral resource.
The result indicates a major extension to the mineralised channel structure at Carnilya Hill, with the new intersection located 280 metres down-plunge of the last substantial intersection (2.79 metres @ 8.61% nickel in CMD028W1) in
the mineralised channel. Recently completed down-hole electromagnetics indicate the presence of a strong in-hole/offhole EM anomaly centred below the new intersection and extending both up-plunge and down-plunge to the east and west.
The new hole (CMD026) intersected 3.11 metres @ 3.66% nickel, from 698.74 metres down hole. This includes 0.36 metres @ 17.55% nickel from 698.74 metres down-hole, followed by 1.47 metres of unmineralised ultramafic rock
and then 1.28 metres @ 1.64% nickel from 700.57 metres. All intersections are close to true width.
“This is an exceptionally interesting result, both in terms of the very high tenor of the mineralisation and the additional resource potential indicated by what appears to be an almost 50% increase in the length of the mineralised channel,” said Mincor’s Managing Director, Mr David Moore.
“Because of the potential to rapidly increase the resource inventory at Carnilya Hill, follow-up drilling has already commenced to confirm our interpretation of these new results,” he added. Mincor previously announced a Mineral Resource for the Carnilya Hill Project of 328,440 tonnes @ 4.9% nickel, for 16,100 tonnes of contained nickel metal.
The new intersection indicates that the dip of the stratigraphy at Carnilya Hill progressively flattens with depth, and is estimated to be only 15 degrees at the location of the intersection. Because of this shallow dip, the long section used to illustrate the geology at Carnilya Hill has been supplemented by the attached plan view, which assists in understanding the overall shape of the channel structure.
Mr Moore said a full owner-mining study was currently underway on development of the Carnilya Hill Project, and that this would be compared to the results of contract mining tenders – bids for which had now been
received.
“We expect to make a final development decision within the next four weeks,” he said. ”We are confident that we have a robust nickel project at Carnilya Hill, and – with this in mind – we have, after consultation with our joint venture partners, already placed orders for certain long lead-time items so that we can fast-track the development of this project during the second half.”
“Over the next few weeks we will select either an owner-mining operation or choose a winning contract-mining tender, with a view to starting mine construction early in the next quarter,” Mr Moore added.
...