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Chalice likes Venture’s South West nickel-copper-PGE project so much, it is buying another 19pc
Mining
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Venture’s partner Chalice Mining has started electromagnetic surveys and surface sampling to delineate existing targets and identify new drill targets at their South West project.
Chalice, which recently committed to the second stage of the joint venture following successful initial exploration, is carrying out the work over two interpreted magmatic nickel-copper-PGE sulphide targets it had identified earlier this year.
This is part of its commitment to spend a further $2.5m by July 2024 to earn a further 19% interest in the project, which will take the Julimar owner’s stake in the South West project up to 70%.
Venture Minerals (ASX:VMS) managing director Andrew Radonjic said his company was looking forward to the results of the surveys and sampling by Chalice.
“This phase of exploration by Chalice will also begin to test the underexplored northern part of the 20km long Thor Target, the newly interpreted parallel unexplored ultramafic unit west of Thor, and a new area at the Odin Nickel-Copper-PGE prospect,” he added.
Getting to know the targets
Chalice plans to carry out infill auger soil geochemical sampling to constrain the targets and additional ground fixed-loop EM (FLEM) lines to investigate the untested airborne EM anomalies which were previously generated by Venture.
At the Odin nickel-copper-PGE prospect, it will provide initial testing of magnetic, AEM, regional gravity, and surface geochemical anomalism with auger sampling and coverage by Xcalibur AEM lines as part of a larger survey.
On the other new target area covering the newly interpreted parallel unexplored ultramafic unit west of Thor, Chalice’s objective is to provide initial testing by Xcalibur AEM lines.
South West project
The South West project covers 256km2 about 240km south of Perth within the highly prospective West Yilgarn nickel-copper-PGE province, which also hosts the Julimar discovery.
It includes Thor, a 20km magnetic anomaly that is a lookalike of Chalice’s advanced Julimar nickel-copper-PGE project.
An airborne EM survey by Venture identified 13 highly conductive anomalies within the southern 6.5km of the Thor regional magnetic feature, of which only two have been tested by single holes in the company’s 2018 maiden drill program.
The other significant area is Odin, where the only hole drilled intersected nickel and copper sulphides within a highly prospective mafic-ultramafic unit that extends over 10 strike km.
This article was developed in collaboration with Venture 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.
