Sultan Resources Limited (ASX: SLZ) has recommenced its reconnaissance exploration aircore drilling for nickel-prospective ultramafic rocks at the company’s Lake Grace prospect in Western Australia during January.
The project is located in the Wheatbelt area between Lake Grace and Kulin in WA where the company has been exploring since listing in 2018.
The Ni-prospectivity of Sultan’s Lake Grace tenement portfolio has long been recognised by the company and has been verified by the discovery of Chalice Mining Ltd’s Julimar Ni-Cu-PGE deposit ~200km to the northwest in the same belt of rocks.
Sultan’s licences contain historically drilled ultramafic rocks with evidence of nickel and cobalt bearing sulfides1 and detailed airborne magnetic surveying by the company has revealed several unexplored areas with geophysical characteristics indicative of ultramafic rock types.
The aircore programme is designed to confirm the presence of ultramafic rocks interpreted from the magnetics interpretation and help determine the prospectivity of the region for hosting Ni-sulphide deposits.
Aircore Drilling Progress – December 2021
The aircore program commenced at Target area 1 (Kulin Hill) in the northern end of the project at Kulin (E70/5095) where previously identified ultramafic rocks have been noted in historic drilling and mapping by Sultan.
The first four holes at this target have been completed and geological logging has confirmed the presence of ultramafic lithology in at least three holes.
The aircore holes lie approximately two km northwest of the historic diamond holes and confirm the strike extent of this first ultramafic target. The rig also completed a further six holes in a single traverse at Target Area 2 some 20 km southeast of Target 1.
These holes ranged from 34 to 61m in depth and intersected mostly granitic rocks, though the two deepest holes (60 and 61m) ended in dark green to black, magnetic mafic rocks containing olivine, pyroxene and feldspar.
Following this single traverse at Target Area 2, the rig moved south to Target Area 3 but only managed three holes before the programme was halted due to extreme weather and a Total Fire Ban. This area, which is much closer to Lake Grace, revealed some intersections of mafic granulites which are the host rocks to gold mineralisation previously drilled by Sultan at Lake Grace as well as at established gold resources at Katanning and Tampia in a similar geological setting.
No ultramafic rocks were recognised in the initial three holes at Target 3. The magnetic anomaly at Target Area 3 is strongly deformed and, if it represents folded mafic granulites, would present as a highly prospective, previously unrecognised gold target.
For further information please visit: https://www.sultanresources.com.au/