Chalice Mining has solidified the potential of its Dampier target, with early visual results suggesting sulphide mineralisation at the prospect.
With seven drill rigs currently drilling at Chalice’s Julimar nickel-copper-platinum group elements (PGE) project in Western Australia, including three at the fancied Gonneville deposit, it was initial diamond drilling at the greenfield Dampier target that caught the company’s attention.
“The current drill hole (HD013) has intersected a 4.2m wide zone of heavily disseminated to matrix (locally semi-massive) sulphides comprising pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite and pentlandite,” the company said in a statement.
Chalice said it had also discovered “an up to approximately 80m wide halo of weakly disseminated sulphides (average 1–3 per cent sulphide) within an interlayered sequence of ultramafic to mafic intrusive rocks.
“This is the first significant indication of orthomagmatic sulphide mineralisation outside of the Gonneville deposit itself and is considered an exciting result which demonstrates the highly prospective nature of the Julimar complex for additional nickel-copper-PGE discoveries,” the company said.
A total of 13 diamond drill holes have been completed at the Hartog-Dampier targets to date, with assays pending for five completed holes (HD009-HD013). Assays for the three new holes at Dampier are expected within six weeks.
Chalice said the next milestone for the Julimar project was the Gonneville mineral resource estimate, due shortly, and the Gonneville scoping study, which is targeted for the third quarter of 2022.
The company is conducting reverse circulation and diamond drilling at Gonneville to underpin the resource estimate, which is expected to continue going forward.
In late May, Chalice successfully launched a $100 million institutional placement to fund further exploration at Julimar, which it said left it fully funded for the ensuing 18 months.
Chalice was trading at $4 at the time of writing (4:30pm AEST, July 7), which was up 6.7 per cent up on the day.