NickelX secures WA drilling grant for Cosmos South drilling

NickelX has received a co-funding grant of up to $180,000 from the WA government for the upcoming diamond drilling program at its Cosmos South nickel project.

The grant, which will see the state government paying up to half the tab on direct drilling costs up to the cap, will go towards an initial four-hole program to test the near-surface and down dip extension of previously identified conductivity and magnetic anomalies.

NickelX (ASX:NKL) had identified these targets after compiling geophysical, geochemical and geological data and is now progressing the permitting process and engaging with drill contractors.

“The Cosmos South Nickel Project ranked highly on our target list and following our due diligence, approval by shareholders and exercise of the Option, the team are excited to have received some very positive results from a recent close-spaced drone magnetic survey,” managing director Matt Gauci said.

“As per our application to the Exploration Incentive Scheme (EIS), the results have indicated prospective magnetic characteristics for ultramafic rocks and co-incident with the existing highly conductive MLEM and FLEM conductors within the project area.”

Plenty of nearology

Cosmos South is located just 10km south of the Cosmos Nickel operations and 20km north of BHP’s Leinster Nickel operations, all of which are within the nickel-rich Wiluna Greenstone Belt.

Despite this, the project area has seen very limited exploration due to being almost entirely covered by alluvial deposits.

More recently, the Wiluna Greenstone Belt has seen plenty of activity with the proposed takeover of Western Areas Limited (ASX: WSA) by IGO Limited (ASX: IGO) and expansion of the BHP Nickel West Leinster Nickel operations.

This article was developed in collaboration with NickelX, 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.