Auroch is poised to start a major resource drilling program at the Saints nickel project as part of its aggressive exploration work across its suite of projects.

The 3,700m infill diamond drilling program is aimed at upgrading and potentially extending the current high-grade Inferred resource of 1.02 million tonnes grading 2% for 21,400t of contained nickel to the higher confidence Indicated category.

Indicated resources are considered to have sufficient information on geology and grade continuity to support mine planning.

Auroch Minerals’ (ASX:AOU) drill program includes two additional large-diameter drill-holes that will recover samples for metallurgical testwork.

Both the expected upgrade to resources and metallurgical testwork results will provide important inputs for the Scoping Study currently underway at the Saints nickel project in Western Australia

This will be followed by a 2,000m drill program that will test for along strike and down plunge extensions to the known nickel sulphide mineralisation.

Other exploration programs

The company has also resumed drilling at the Ragless Range prospect within its Arden zinc-copper project in South Australia.

Work is currently underway on the second diamond hole at the prospect, which is being drilled to a depth of 400m to intersect the prospective lower contact of the Wirrapowie Limestone with either the Woodendina Dolomite or the Parachilna Sandstone.

This could lead to the drilling of an additional angled hole on the central section targeting the gravity anomaly closer to previous drill hole RRDD007 that intersected 12.8m grading 4.96% zinc from 53m including 3.65m at 15.47% zinc from 62.15m.

Time to Platel up at Nepean

Over at the Nepean nickel project in Western Australia, Auroch expects to shortly resume a ground dipole-dipole induced polarisation survey over the Nepean North prospect.

Results to date have been positive with strong chargeability features identified below the weathering profile on every line surveyed.

These include an anomaly that stretches out over 1.3km in strike and is potentially associated with a dolerite/gabbro east of the Nepean ultramafic unit, making an attractive target for orogenic gold mineralisation.

A second chargeability anomaly was identified over three survey lines on the eastern basal contact of a prospective ultramafic unit and may be a suitable nickel sulphide target for follow-up drill testing.

“The Company has a very busy year ahead and so we are pleased that we could get activities underway so early in the new year,” managing director Aidan Platel said.

“In addition to ongoing exploration activities at Nepean and Arden, our focus for this quarter is a major drill program at Saints which is fundamental for the ongoing Scoping Study due to be completed at the end of March.”

Platel adds that the company is well funded to continue its aggressive exploration programs in parallel with mine viability studies at both the Saints and Nepean projects.

 

 

 

This article was developed in collaboration with Auroch Minerals, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

 

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.