Chalice Gold Mines Limited (ASX: CHN) has significant new exploration results from ongoing exploration drilling at its 100%-owned Julimar Nickel-Copper-PGE Project, located ~70km north-east of Perth in Western Australia.
Three rigs (two RC and one diamond) are currently drilling at the Gonneville Intrusive – where Chalice made a high-grade Ni-Cu-PGE discovery in March 2020.
Managing Director, Alex Dorsch, said drilling results continue to demonstrate the Intrusive hosts both high-grade Ni-Cu-PGE zones in massive / matrix sulphides and widespread PGE mineralisation in disseminated sulphides.
In addition, a deep penetrating HT SQUID EM survey was recently completed over the entire ~1.6km x ~0.7km Intrusive with the aim of identifying new deep EM targets and possible continuations of existing EM targets beyond the depth capacity of the previous Moving Loop EM (MLEM) survey. Preliminary results are promising and modelling / interpretation is ongoing.
An additional moving loop EM survey is underway to validate the results and ensure that no surficial conductive sources are influencing the survey.
Assays have been received for diamond hole JD003, while assays for a further 10 completed drill holes (five diamond and five RC) are currently pending.
Assays from JD003have confirmed a high-grade PGE-Ni-Cu matrix sulphide zone that has exceeded expectations (17.6m @ 5.3g/t Pd, 1.0g/t Pt, 1.3% Ni, 0.6% Cu, 0.07% Co from 191.4m) and demonstrated that matrix sulphides can host exceptionally high PGE-Ni-Cu grades.
JD003 also intersected a near-surface PGE-rich oxide interval (19m @ 1.6g/t Pd, 0.4g/t Pt from 9m) as well as several broad PGE-rich disseminated sulphide intervals throughout the hole down to a depth of ~461m.
The results have extended the matrix zone to over ~200m of strike length and the zone remains wide open in all directions.
Chalice is continuing its approach of simultaneously exploring and evaluating the extensive high-grade and low-grade PGE-Ni-Cu zones within the large-scale Gonneville Intrusive.
Mr Dorsch said the company is aiming to define a preliminary maiden Mineral Resource Estimate within ~12 months, which will be used in subsequent preliminary economic modelling.
Ongoing and planned activities at Julimar include:
· DHEM will be completed on all diamond holes and selective RC holes.
- a ~20,000m Phase 2 RC drill program is underway utilising two rigs. Drilling is being undertaken on a 200m x 80m spaced grid over the ~1.6km x ~0.7km Gonneville Intrusive to provide sectional east-west coverage and, once approved, to test the extension of the G1 and G2 Zones to the south, where the company is awaiting permit approval.
· Diamond drillingwill continue to step-out along the matrix sulphide zones and test new DHEM targets. The current hole, JD008, is being drilled ~80m north of JD003, targeting the northern extension of the G2 Zone.
· Metallurgical testwork– a preliminary metallurgical testwork programme is underway on four ore types – massive, matrix, disseminated and oxide.
