Sultan Resources has started drilling the Calesi nickel prospect. Pic via Getty Images
Sultan Resources begins Rio-funded drilling campaign over the Calesi nickel prospect
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- Drilling is under way at the Calesi nickel prospect near Kulin
- Rio Tinto Exploration is sole-funding the RC drill program under an earn-in agreement over tenement E70/5082
- Sultan Resources remains manager of the exploration campaign
Special Report: Thanks to funding support from mining giant Rio Tinto, Sultan Resources has started drilling the Calesi magmatic nickel prospect in Western Australia’s Wheatbelt region.
Sultan Resources (ASX:SLZ) struck an agreement with Rio Tinto’s (ASX:RIO) exploration arm in June last year over tenement E70/5082, which represents a portion of the former’s Lake Grace project.
Lake Grace is comprised of five large tenements and contains the Calesi nickel prospect and Kulin Hill nickel-copper project in the north, and the Lake Grace gold target surrounding the Griffin’s Find gold mine in the south.
Under the agreement with Rio Tinto Exploration (RTX), SLZ retains full ownership of its principal area of focus, being the Kulin Hill tenure, while the major spends $2 million on exploration across the E70/5082 tenement over five years to earn 80% of that particular patch of ground.
RTX previously identified a strong, untested, late-time conductivity anomaly from a single-line SKYTEM response in the northern part of E70/5082, from 20km line-spaced data, coincident with a circular magnetic and radiometric anomaly which formed the basis for Rio Tinto’s decision to enter an option and farm-in arrangement with SLZ.
In October last year, RTX formally exercised the option to earn into the E70/5082 tenement which hosts Calesi.
The drill bit has started spinning
SLZ today announced drilling is now underway at Calesi, near the Wheatbelt town of Kulin, with Hagstrom Drilling on site to complete the initial two RC holes being sunk into the anomaly.
The drilling program is being sole-funded by RTX but managed by SLZ.
Drilling activities are expected to take ~5 days with both holes to be cased for future downhole electromagnetic (EM) surveys.
Calesi was defined by late-time EM anomaly established by a regional EM airborne survey and close-spaced heli-borne EM.
This article was developed in collaboration with Sultan 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.
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