Western Australia-focused nickel company St George Mining Limited (ASX: SGQ) has commenced exploration at its Paterson project, located within the Paterson Province of WA.
A highlight of the programme on this underexplored project area is a large, airborne magnetic survey which will cover more than 35km of strike of prospective stratigraphy.
Executive Chairman, John Prineas said Paterson is an early stage project with significant exploration upside, and complements the company’s flagship Mt Alexander nickel-copper sulphide project.
“The recent discoveries in the Paterson Province have re-affirmed the region as a world-class mineral district and it’s no surprise to see a massive escalation of exploration here by major mining companies,” Mr Prineas said.
“We believe our ground is highly prospective with prominent structural features and interpreted geology that may host mineral deposits similar to those already identified in the Province.
We are very excited at the opportunity we have at the Paterson Province and look forward to methodically progressing exploration at the Paterson Project while we continue our aggressive exploration and development activities at our flagship Mt Alexander nickel-copper sulphide project.”
St George’s Paterson Project is in the same regional location as Rio Tinto’s exciting Winu discovery and Newcrest’s world-class Telfer gold-copper mine.
Mr Prineas said preliminary interpretation of Government regional magnetic data suggests that the depth of cover at St George’s project is much less than other exploration projects in the region, potentially allowing for expedited and lower-cost exploration drilling.
St George secured ground in the Paterson Province in mid-December 2019 with the grant of Exploration Licence E45/5226. Another tenement – Exploration Licence E45/5422 – is in the application phase and expected to be granted to St George during 2020.
St George’s granted exploration licence covers more than 35km strike of prospective stratigraphy, with potential similarities to the stratigraphy that hosts the mineralisation at Winu, Nifty and Telfer.
A review of the regional magnetic and gravity data available on the Government database has highlighted a number of key structures and tectonic features within the St George tenure.
Mr Prineas said that significantly, these features are more prominent in St George’s ground than at other project areas like Winu and Havieron, suggesting that the depth of cover at St George’s ground is much less than at these other projects – potentially allowing for expedited and lower cost exploration drilling.
