Chalice Mining is set to commence a much-anticipated drilling program at its Hartog-Dampier targets after receiving the necessary approvals.
The ASX-200 company begun initial drilling at Hartog in January and had explored eight of 70 planned sites as of late April. However, Chalice’s access was restricted to existing tracks only.
In December, the company was granted a permit to explore further into the forest but encountered five community appeals to carry out the activities, including from the Avon and Hills Mining Awareness Group, and the Shire of Toodyay.
Chalice will now look to descend on Hartog and Dampier, located within its Julimar nickel-copper-platinum group elements (PGEs) project, and has assured its work will be “low-impact”.
“Chalice’s drilling will not involve any mechanised clearing of vegetation and strict environmental management measures will be used to minimise impact to the environment, including the use of low-impact, small-footprint diamond rigs and comprehensive flora, fauna and cultural heritage monitoring,” the company said in a statement.
“These small drill rigs will navigate around trees and maximise the use of existing cleared areas in order to keep disturbance to a minimum.”
Chalice said the drill program would provide further insight into Julimar’s potential as a future ‘green metal’ supplier.
“The drill program is designed to provide an initial test of the potential for green metals, including nickel, copper, cobalt, platinum and palladium, in the area,” the company said.
“These metals are very rare and are critical for decarbonising the global economy and addressing climate change through technologies such as renewables, electric vehicles, energy storage systems and green hydrogen.”
In March 2020, Chalice made a world-class discovery of PGEs, nickel, copper, cobalt and gold at Julimar, with its Gonneville deposit estimated to contain 10 million ounces of palladium, platinum and gold – collectively called 3E (three elements) – plus more than 900,000 tonnes of base metals.