Chalice’s Julimar nickel deposit keeps growing bigger

Chalice Mining (ASX:CHN) continues to expand the footprint of its company-making Julimar nickel-copper-platinum group element project with drilling pushing out the G4 and G11 high grade zones to the northeast.

Notable results from the its ongoing step-out and resource definition drilling campaign at the 1.8km by 0.9km Gonneville Intrusion include 13.4m grading 6.3 grams per tonne (g/t) palladium, 1.1g/t platinum, 1.3 per cent nickel, 0.7 per cent copper and 0.07 per cent cobalt from a depth of 405.7m.

The G4 zone is now interpreted to have a strike length of more than 1,250m and up to 600m dip extent and remains open to the north and down-up while G11 has a strike of more than 1,200m and up to 200m of dip extent and like G4 is open to the north and down-dip.

Infill drilling also continues to demonstrate the large-scale resource potential of the Gonneville.

Chalice added that due to the growth in size of the mineralised footprint, the amount of drilling required to define the discovery is expected to increase and that a maiden resource for the Julimar nickel-copper-PGE project is now likely to be delivered late in the third quarter of 2021.

Reconnaissance exploration and environmental surveys in the Julimar State Forest are also continuing with initial drilling targeted for the third quarter.

Nickel sulphide discoveries

Toro Energy (ASX:TOE) has intersected semi-massive nickel sulphide and clasts of massive nickel sulphide in a diamond hole about 400m to the southeast and along strike of the Dusty Nickel discovery.

This hole contains a 4.5m intersection containing clasts and semi-massive nickel sulphide has a continuous downhole thickness of 4.5m from 294.73m down-hole.

While not as reliable as laboratory analysis, handheld XRF analysis indicates that individual pieces of semi-massive nickel sulphide may contain 2.45 per cent to 10.72 per cent nickel.

Additionally, the intersected nickel sulphide mineralisation remains open in all directions.

Meanwhile, Constellation Resources (ASX:CR1) has identified additional trace magmatic nickel sulphides in multiple infill aircore holes at the Orpheus project in Western Australia’s Fraser Range.

With the latest results, trace levels of nickel sulphides can now be mapped in a fertile intrusive unit over a 2km strike length.

Adding interest, the sulphide occurrences and associated pathfinder regolith anomaly both rack along the base of an interpreted large and highly prospective fertile olivine bearing intrusion suite.

Constellation plans to carry out a surface high powered moving loop electromagnetic survey over the McPherson soil anomaly in the northeast corner of the tenement.

McPherson is a coherent nickel-copper soil anomaly that resides directly above a north-west trending magnetic unit that could represent a favourable intrusive unit to host nickel sulphides.