Azure spinning drillbit to define Andover nickel-copper resources

Special Report: Azure has kicked off drilling aimed at defining resources at its exciting Andover nickel-copper project in Western Australia’s Pilbara region.

The 30,000m two-phase diamond drilling program will seek to initially define the extent of the 1,050m long and +200m deep VC-07 mineralised body before infill drilling is carried out to produce a JORC resource.

Azure Minerals (ASX:AZS) is also looking to power its way through the program with two rigs already on site and drilling while a third is expected to arrive in mid-January.

This follows the successful initial drilling of seven holes, each of which intersected significant nickel-copper sulphide mineralisation associated with electromagnetic conductors.

“Having confirmed a significant nickel-copper discovery at Andover, the board of Azure is transitioning the company’s focus from exploration of the VC-07 mineralised body to resource definition,” managing director Tony Rovira said.

“With the VC-07 conductor extending east-west for 1,050m, more than 200m vertically and remaining unconstrained at depth, we believe there is excellent potential to define a major nickel-copper sulphide deposit at Andover.”

He added that while most of the planned drilling will focus on VC-07, Andover is a “target-rich environment” for further nickel and copper sulphide discoveries.

“Geophysical surveying has identified numerous conductors indicative of bedrock-hosted sulphide mineralisation and drilling of the first of these prospective targets, VC-23, has commenced.”

Initial drilling will define the along-strike, up-dip and down-dip extents of the mineralisation.

This will be followed by close-spaced infill drilling to assess internal continuity and variability.

Regional targets

Previous work had identified 12 separate EM conductor anomalies within the Andover project area and Azure has started drilling of the VC-23 conductor.

There is already evidence that VC-23 is mineralised, as drilling by Mark Creasy’s Creasy Group in 2018 had intersected nickel-copper sulphide mineralisation with hits such as 2m at 2.1 per cent nickel and 0.44 per cent copper from 15m, and 6m at 0.45 per cent nickel and 0.39 per cent copper.

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.