Azure confirms 16.2m high-grade nickel hit at giant Andover discovery

Special Report: In 2021, Azure (ASX:AZS) will launch a 30,000m drilling program to define a nickel-copper resource within the “substantial” 1km-long ‘VC-07’ conductor discovery at Andover.

The latest assays from Andover from hole number four (ANDD0004) returned an overall intersection of 41.9m at 1.10 per cent nickel and 0.57 per cent copper.

That includes a higher grade 16.2m intersection grading 2.09 per cent nickel and 0.75 per cent copper.

Azure says this intersection, like the others, coincides with the ‘VC-07’ conductor, indicating the 1km long, +200m-deep body may be a substantial nickel-copper deposit:

Azure Andover — Andover showing the VC-07 conductor plate and current drillholes.

In every hole at Andover massive sulphides (the best stuff) coincide with strong electromagnetic conductors detected by EM surveys.

“Modelling of the VC-07 EM conductor plate has, to date, proven to be very accurate, and importantly, wherever drilling has tested this conductor, significant nickel-copper sulphide mineralisation has been intersected,” Azure managing director Tony Rovira says.

“The high-grade nickel and copper assays from the massive sulphides intersected in ANDD0004 and the coincident strong in-hole EM conductor support VC07 as the geophysical signature of a fertile and potentially extensive nickel and copper-rich mineralised system.”

Assays are pending for the next two holes, ANDD0005 and ANDD0006, which also intersected multiple zones of semi-massive to massive nickel copper sulphides.

Similar to ANDD0004, but even bigger.

“The deepest hole, ANDD0006, intersected the widest mineralised zone yet drilled, with an intersection width in excess of 53m, indicating that the mineralised zone is still open in the downdip direction and potentially broadening with increasing depth,” Rovira says.

“Our latest drill hole ANDD0007 is targeting the conductor plate with a 100m step-out to the west and additional drilling will continue to test the along-strike extensions of VC-07 in that direction.

“If VC-07 continues to deliver similar mineralised intersections along its more than one kilometre length, there is the potential here to define a substantial nickel-copper sulphide deposit.”

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.