West Arunta is a hotbed of critical minerals exploration. Pic via Getty Images.
Lycaon Resources to make its mark at West Arunta, where high-grade critical minerals are being discovered at pace
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- Lycaon turns attention to emerging West Arunta critical minerals mining district
- Exploration at Bow River shows encouraging nickel enrichment at top of >1km gravity anomaly, with only small area of strike tested with 2 drillholes
- Land access agreements for West Arunta tenure is progressing for drilling early 2024
Special Report: While Lycaon Resources has identified significant potential at Bow River, it has its eyes set on the West Arunta region where exploration at high-grade critical minerals projects is raising eyebrows.
Lycaon Resources’ (ASX:LYN) Bow River project is within the quickly emerging East Kimberley critical minerals province in WA and covers two known nickel-copper-cobalt sulphide prospects.
The Bow River and Salt Lick Creek deposits are just 60km south of Panoramic Resources’ (ASX:PAN) high-grade 114.57Mt Ni-Cu-Co Savannah mining operation.
Yet LYN is looking at the neighbouring West Arunta region, where explorers such as WA1 Resources (ASX:WA1) continue to deliver high-grade niobium (Nb2O5) results from drilling at its Luni deposit at the West Arunta project, recently intersecting 30m @ 4.7% Nb2O5, demonstrating its world-class deposit potential.
Bow River potential
Recent exploration has identified a highly anomalous nickel mafic intrusion showing results of up to 742 parts per million Ni.
Drilling was planned to target the deeper more primitive part of the intrusion thought to be related to the highest density gravity anomaly.
Recent drilling stepped out from the historical drilling centred on the nickel-copper gossan to the west by 1.2km and drilled to a depth of 800m, far exceeding the deepest drillhole of 180m.
Sulphide mineralisation was intersected in both drillholes and shows a strong correlation to the upper limit of the modelled gravity anomaly ~330-360m depth, with the remainder of the gravity anomaly untested over the >1km strike extent.
DHEM surveys were completed to investigate potential conductors, and together with the assay data results will potentially assist in building greater geological confidence in the mineralisation model ahead of further drilling.
LYN technical director Thomas Langley says there remains significant potential to discover nickel-copper mineralisation at Bow River, with a large portion of the intrusive remaining untested of the >1km gravity anomaly.
“Future drilling will look to focus on the historical high-grade drill hits which proved that the mafic intrusion is a fertile nickel-copper system.
“Our near-term focus will now turn to West Arunta where WA1 continue to demonstrate the world-class discovery potential of the West Arunta with their tier one Luni discovery.
“Land access is progressing through the regulatory steps with the land access agreement with the Parna Ngururrpa traditional owners, signed in September, and a meeting of the Aboriginal Lands Trust later this month to provide a recommendation to the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs for consent to entry.
“Pending approvals, drilling is planned to commence in March/April 2024.”
This article was developed in collaboration with Lycaon Resources, 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.
