Miramar Resources Limited (ASX:M2R) has identified several high priority nickel (Ni), copper (Cu) and platinum group element (PGE) targets at the company’s 100%-owned Mount Vernon Project, in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia.
Executive Chairman, Allan Kelly, said that historic sampling results, when combined with the recent EM survey, indicated potential for significant Ni-Cu-PGE sulphide mineralisation at Mt Vernon.
The Kulkatharra Dolerite sills present at Mount Vernon are the same age as the Giles Complex which hosts the large Nebo and Babel nickel-copper deposits in the West Musgraves,” he said.
“There are multiple significant historic nickel, copper and PGE rock chip and soil results over a significant strike length along the base of one of these dolerite sills and a number of late-time EM anomalies that could be related to nickel sulphide mineralisation,” he added.
Mount Vernon Ni-Cu-PGE targets
The Mount Vernon Project is characterised by a series of Kulkatharra Dolerite sills intruding sediments of the Collier Basin, including pyritic siltstones within the Ilgarari Formation.
Numerous dolerite dykes of the later Mundine Well Suite, equivalent to the “Money Intrusion” which hosts Ni-Cu-PGE mineralisation at the “Mangaroon” Prospect, crosscut the older geology.
Previous exploration was mostly focussed on sediment-hosted Cu-Pb-Zn mineralisation however a series of Ni, Cu +/- PGE anomalies were outlined from reconnaissance soil traverses, and rock chip sampling returned several strongly elevated Ni and Cu results over several kilometres of strike at the basal contact of a dolerite sill where it intrudes the sulphidic sedimentary package.
RC drilling in 1997 targeted Cu-Pb-Zn but also intersected Ni, Cu and PGE anomalism in the dolerite sills. A significant portion of the 26 kilometre long basal contact has never been sampled or drilled.
Miramar flew a detailed magnetic and electromagnetic (EM) survey over the Project in early 2022 which identified multiple late-time anomalies which could be related to Ni-Cu-PGE sulphide mineralisation.
Significantly, despite the presence of multiple apparently similar dolerite sills, the late-time EM anomalism was only observed over the northernmost of these sills, implying there is something different about this unit. This sill also has the highest historic rock chip and soil results.
Late-time EM anomalies are seen on Flight Lines 1700 and 1710, adjacent to the highest historic rock chip results and inboard of the outcropping contact between the dolerite sill and underlying sulphidic sediments. These anomalies may represent an accumulation of Ni-Cu-PGE sulphides at the base of the shallow south-dipping dolerite.
None of the previous soil or rock chip sampling, or the RC drilling, tested these EM anomalies.
The company is planning a reconnaissance field trip during June, pending field activities at the Whaleshark IOCG Project.
