NickelX Limited (ASX:NKL) has contracted DDH1 Limited and secured a diamond drill rig for an early July programme at the Fire Dragon Nickel- Copper Target within the Biranup Project, located in the world class Albany Fraser Orogen (AFO) in Western Australia.
The DDH1 contract includes 2 PHASES of drilling for a total of 6,212m of Diamond and Diamond with RC pre-collars to test for Nickel-Copper sulphides at Fire Dragon and FD1 based on current data, while a wider PHASE 2 programme of Diamond and Diamond with RC pre-collars is planned to test for Nickel-Copper sulphides at Fire Dragon, FD1, FD2, FD4 and Silver Dragon and to test for structural Gold at Black Dragon, will be based on completion of modelling from the recent EM surveys and results from PHASE 1.
The PHASE 1, four hole 1,212m diamond drilling programme will test for massive sulphides at Fire Dragon and the now enhanced FD1 conductors. The PHASE 1 programme is supported by an EIS co-funded drilling grant received from the WA Government.
Managing Director, Matt Gauci, said the strategy at Fire Dragon is not only to locate thicker and potentially economic extensions of the nickel-copper bearing sulphide zone intersected by historical drilling, but also to better understand the style of this mineralisation (i.e., whether magmatic or hydrothermal, or a tectonothermal modification of either). This will have important implications for Nickel exploration throughout the Biranup project and the AFO.
We’re pleased to have contracted DDH1 as our drilling partner and having secured a Diamond Rig for our PHASE 1 and PHASE 2 drilling programmes at Fire Dragon (Nickel Copper), Silver Dragon (Nickel Copper) and Black Dragon (Gold), for what will be the only comprehensive and systematic drill program on highly prospective targets, identified by the NickelX team’s data review and recently successful EM surveys,” Mr Gauci said.
The Biranup Project is comprised of six granted exploration licenses (EL’s) covering a total area of ~400 sq. km and is located at the north-eastern Albany Fraser Orogen (AFO), where previous work has identified 20+ EM conductors, including four high priority targets, that are considered highly prospective for magmatic nickel-copper mineralisation.
The high priority Fire Dragon nickel target has been the subject of an AEM survey, ground MLEM survey and very limited drilling by previous explorers, which intersected semi- massive to massive sulphides (including pentlandite and chalcopyrite), from a limited four-hole programme.
The AFO is still considered an emerging mineral belt as nickel-copper discoveries continue after only 10 years from the discovery of the Nova-Bollinger deposit. Total mineral endowment of the AFO is approximately 0.3Mt contained nickel-copper, whereas more mature belts, such as the Thompson Belt in Canada, have been explored for more than 40 years with total mineral endowment of 2.7Mt contained nickel. Discoveries continue to be made in the AFO including the Silver Knight deposit (Creasy Group), Mawson’s deposit (Legend Mining Limited) and the Orion target (IGO Limited).
