Special Report: Drilling at Azure Minerals’ (ASX:AZS) Andover discovery continues to pull up exciting visual mineralisation, with a third hole intersecting strong, near-surface nickel and copper sulphides.

The Andover nickel project in the Pilbara continues to impress, after a maiden drill hole sparked an immediate re-rate of Azure’s share price early in October.

A second drill hole extended the richly mineralised zone for +40m from the ‘discovery’ hole and validated Azure’s geological model in the process.

Now drill hole #3 has also hit “significant qualities” of copper and nickel in three shallow sections down to about 85m depth:

Massive, semi-massive and blebby nickel and copper sulphides in hole number three a~79m downhole.

As with the first two holes reported by the company, it contains wide intervals of nickel and copper mineralisation in the form of massive, semi-massive, matrix, blebby and disseminated sulphides hosted in gabbro and similar mafic rocks, Azure says.

Readings by pXRF indicate the presence of significant nickel and copper grades in the “sulphide-rich” intervals.

“This is early stage drilling but with each of our first three drill holes successfully intersecting substantial widths of nickel and copper sulphides and the presence of strong electromagnetic conductors associated with this mineralisation, we are confident this mineralised system has the potential to be extensive,” Azure managing director Tony Rovira says.

“Importantly, spectral scanning of drill core from the first two holes has verified the presence of significant quantities of pentlandite (nickel sulphide) and chalcopyrite (copper sulphide) mineralisation, confirming the company’s geological logging and visual estimations.

“Our fourth hole has now started, and it is targeting along-strike and down-dip mineralised extensions to the northwest.”

Assay results will be released as they become available, the company says.

Conductors are lighting up

Surface fixed loop (FLTEM) and down-hole (DHEM) electromagnetic surveys are continuing, and modelling of this geophysical data continues to identify numerous EM conductor plates, providing additional targets for follow-up drilling.

DHEM surveying involves sending a probe attached to a wire cable down a completed drill-hole.

The probe is able to detect conductive sulphide mineralisation off-hole, with the potential to “see” mineralisation up to 75m away.

The technique is widely used in base metal exploration, and has played a pivotal role in some of the share market’s most famous discoveries like Sandfire Resources’ (ASX:SFR)  DeGrussa and Monty discoveries and Sirius Resources’ Nova-Bollinger.

 

This article was developed in collaboration with Azure 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.