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Base Metals: Ardea is packing a big nickel resource near Kalgoorlie
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Ardea Resources (ASX:ARL) now has a resource of 60 million tonnes grading 1 per cent nickel and 0.07 per cent cobalt at its Goongarrie project near Kalgoorlie.
Goongarrie’s nickel resource is expected to feed a 2 million tonne per annum High Pressure Acid Leach plant for at least 25 years.
Its size will allow for mine high grading and selective recovery of key geometallurgical mineralisation types.
The project also has significant manganese credits, raising the potential for it to supply precursor cathode active materials to the lithium-ion battery industry.
New copper find
Rumble Resources (ASX:RTR) has made a new copper discovery at its Braeside project in Western Australia’s Pilbara region.
Drilling at the Camel Hump prospect returned notable results such as:
- 8m at 1 per cent copper from 11m and 5m at 1.02 per cent copper from 36m ; and
- 5m at 0.86 per cent copper from 22m and 6m at 1 per cent copper from 45m
No previous drilling has been completed in the target area and it remains completely open for further extensions to the mineralisation.
The company believes, based on the style of copper mineralisation seen at Camel Hump, it has strengthened the potential for volcanogenic massive sulphide-style base metal deposits. It plans to carry out airborne electromagnetic work over Camel Hump to highlight potential conductors that may be associated with the Camel Hump copper mineralisation.
Meanwhile, Empire Resources (ASX:ERL) has intersected encouraging copper, nickel and gold in reconnaissance aircore drilling at its Yuinmery base metals project in WA’s Midwest region.
These includes hits such as 4m at 2,776ppm (0.2776 per cent) copper and 679ppb gold from 12m along with 3m at 2,478ppm copper and 672ppm nickel from 16m within a broader 15m zone grading 1,703ppm copper and 797ppm nickel from 4m.
More results are imminent with reverse circulation drilling completed in January having intersected prospective, sulphide-bearing geology across multiple prospects.
