Galileo Mining Ltd (ASX: GAL) has discovered a new style of nickel sulphide mineralisation in drill assays from regional exploration drilling north of the Callisto palladium discovery within the company’s 100% owned Norseman project in Western Australia.
Highlights form an extensive 50 metre drill intersection from hole NRC346 containing higher grade nickel intervals:
- 50m @ 0.32% nickel from 95m (approximately 80m below surface) including; 2.0m @ 0.50% nickel from 111m; 2.0m @ 0.59% nickel from 123m; 2.0m @ 0.56% nickel from 136m; and 3.0m @ 0.46% nickel from 142m.
Today’s results confirm the amazing prospectivity of the ground we are exploring. In our first regional exploration program since the discovery of Callisto we have identified wide zones of disseminated nickel sulphide in a new geological setting,” Managing Director, Brad Underwood, said.
“This new area has the potential for a substantial nickel discovery associated with a large, interpreted intrusion a hundred metres to the north of NRC346.
“The style of metal enrichment identified has higher nickel content than Callisto and lacks the PGE metals seen to the south.
“It also occurs within a discrete gabbroic rock unit and the Company believes this represents a previously unknown intrusive nickel target within a newly identified and highly fertile mineral province.”
“Historical exploration was guided by surface sampling which left most of the area unexplored as mineralisation does not outcrop due to the flat lying stratigraphy.
“Having discovered Callisto we are now in an excellent position to effectively explore and discover the next generation of deposits that are blind to surface prospecting techniques.
“Our target generation model has been validated by the current results and we will continue to aggressively explore all of the 278 km2 of tenements at our Norseman project.”
The nickel sulphides are associated almost exclusively with a gabbroic unit within a larger mafic-ultramafic intrusion. MgO levels average 6.9% over the mineralised gabbroic interval with a high MgO (>20%) ultramafic rock directly underneath.
A large ovoid magnetic anomaly 100 metres north of NRC346 is interpreted to be caused by a mafic/ultramafic intrusion which disrupts the typically linear magnetic pattern of the sills and flows in the district.
NRC346 was part of a regional scout drilling campaign on existing tracks. The area to the north of NRC346 is now a priority target for follow up drilling and the upcoming drill holes will focus on defining the sulphide zone and its potential relationship with the interpreted intrusion.
Follow up RC drilling is planned to commence in late November. This round of drilling will include down hole EM surveying to look for massive sulphide accumulations beneath the conductive sediment layer.
RC and diamond drilling is continuing at Callisto and a down hole EM survey has been planned to follow up on massive sulphides intersected in NRCD293 (2.2 metres @ 0.5% Ni, 1.92 % Cu, 0.12% Co; see ASX Announcements dated 29th August 2022 and 13th October 2022).
Assays from ongoing diamond drilling and from rhodium testing of RC drill holes are expected to be available from mid-November onwards.
