A drilling campaign is targeting critical minerals and precious metals at Norwest Minerals’ Tamba, Duck and Malibu prospects. Pic: Getty Images
Mining
Special Report: Drilling at the Tamba prospect has begun testing a 3km by 1.5km copper-gold soil anomaly and several other high priority critical mineral targets at the Arunta West project in WA.
Norwest Minerals (ASX:NWM) is on the ground at its Arunta West project, drilling for critical minerals like carbonatite hosted niobium, iron oxide-copper-gold mineralisation and precious metals used in a wide range of industrial and green energy applications.
Arunta West boasts three targets including ‘Malibu’ and ‘Duck’ which were delineated by Southern Geoscience Consultants using open-file magnetics and new ground gravity data collected in April this year.
Tamba is a larger copper-gold anomaly, also identified from the 2022 analysis, situated on the eastern extent of the company’s 1500km2 ground package.
The project itself is down the road from WA1 Resources (ASX:WA1) and its mammoth Luni discovery, the most significant niobium resource to be found in more than 70 years.
Other nearby explorers include Rincon Resources (ASX:RCR), whose latest five-hole drilling campaign returned a chunky 212m at 0.23% copper from 2m plus gold, silver, bismuth and cobalt credits.
Aircore drilling is in full swing targeting the Tamba prospect first, which boasts a 3km x 1.5km copper-in-soil footprint.
A second IOCG soil anomaly, about 18km south-west of the copper gold target, will also be drill tested. This anomaly is within the Walungurru Volcanics and sits over a major north-west to south-east trending fault structure.
A short 4km to the north-west is a 100m x 2m gossan outcrop, described in the field as a tectonic breccia, which will also be drill tested.
Once drilling at Tamba has been completed, NWM plans to move across to the Malibu and Duck target anomalies.
In April, a ground gravity acquisition program was undertaken by Atlas Geophysics over the west tenement (E80/5031), which extends 30km and encompasses many of the 31 prospective critical mineral magnetic targets.
Analysis of the gravity data highlighted two zones subsequently named ‘Malibu’ and ‘Duck’ as large priority-one IOCG and carbonatite critical mineral targets.
Drilling at Duck will target a 5km east-west trending belt featuring zones of high-gravity and high-magnetics crossed by a 3km x 1km north-south trending niobium-lithium-REE geochemical soil anomaly.
The program will finish up at Malibu where drilling will test a fold system that includes a high-gravity and high magnetic ‘bullseye’ feature at the fold hinge plus high gravity and variable magnetic targets along 5kms of the northern fold limb.
“Targets within these prospects are compelling and are all supported by high priority geochemical soil anomalies modelled by an independent geochemist in 2022,” NWM CEO Charles Schaus said.
“The company will continue to update the market as the drilling of these exciting critical mineral and precious metal targets progresses.
“Norwest would like to thank the Tjamu Tjamu people for their support and timely completion of the Heritage Study and whom we acknowledge as the Traditional Owners of the land we are exploring.”
This article was developed in collaboration with Norwest 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.
