Dreadnought Resources (ASX:DRE) has intersected further significant visual Ni-Cu sulphides at the Bookathanna North prospect along the 45km long Money Intrusion part of the Mangaroon Ni-Cu-PGE Project, located in the Gascoyne Region of Western Australia.
For the past two years, the work programmes at the Money Intrusion have focused on confirming the fertility, high tenor and potential to form sulphide accumulations,” Managing Director, Dean Tuck, said.
“This programme has been a major leap forward confirming massive and semi-massive sulphides within thick halos of disseminated and net textured sulphides at a marginal trap site within the Money Intrusion. There are two key outcomes from this programme.
Firstly, that the Money Intrusion can form high tenor massive sulphides and that the search for additional trap sites is imperative. Secondly, given the high tenor of mineralisation, massive sulphides are not required for high-grade mineralisation and geophysical techniques used to date may have missed significant targets.
“We look forward to re-assessing the entire Money Intrusion, including follow up geophysics and drilling at Bookathanna North later in 2023.”
The drill programme was originally designed as 5 RC holes with DHEM to test five EM conductors within the Money Intrusion (two at Bookathanna North and three at High Range). Following the intersection of massive sulphides in the first hole (REYRC013), an additional five holes were drilled at Bookathanna North infilling and then stepping out north and south along strike. A total of 10 holes have been drilled (1,074m) with seven holes at Bookathanna North and three at High Range.
Drilling generally collared into the shallow and weakly weathered gabbroic core of the Money Intrusion before passing into the footwall olivine dolerite and finishing in gneissic to granitic country rock. Significantly, the furthest north hole (REYRC017) intersected a thick gabbroic core and did not reach the mineralised footwall olivine dolerite or country rock. REYRC017 highlights the variable geometry of the Money Intrusion and potential to form trap sites for sulphide accumulation.
Importantly, six of the seven holes at Bookathanna North intersected thick (10-50m) disseminated and net textured Ni-Cu sulphides within the footwall olivine dolerite. Of these REYRC013 and REYRC019 each intersected 2.0m of semi-massive to massive sulphides within the mineralised envelope.
Significantly, REYRC019 was a blind step out hole not targeting a conductive anomaly. REYRC019 intersected semi-massive sulphides emphasising the need for the entire Money Intrusion to be reassessed given the results to date.
All sulphide mineralisation consists of pentlandite (Fe,Ni)9S8, chalcopyrite (CuFeS2) and pyrrhotite (Fe(1-x)S) with pentlandite and chalcopyrite making up ~40-50% of the sulphide mix with the remainder being pyrrhotite. In addition to the observed mineralisation, the presence of Ni and Cu was confirmed by handheld XRF.
At High Range, three holes were drilled (REYRC020-22, 255m) targeting three conductive plates ranging from 450- 900S. These holes intersected sheared metasediments within the Edmund Group explaining the EM conductors. These results will be incorporated into the overall reassessment of the entire Money Intrusion
Assay results are expected throughout September/October 2023. DHEM survey results are expected in October 2023.
