Great Southern Mining is ready to start drill testing at its wholly owned East Laverton nickel project in Western Australia’s Goldfields region next month.
The company has booked a diamond drill rig and reverse-circulation gear for its first drilling program to test the nickel-copper and platinum-group elements, or “PGE” prospectivity of its Diorite Hill magmatic complex that covers an area of about 110 square kilometres.
Last month the explorer was awarded a grant through the Western Australian Government Exploration Incentive Scheme, or “EIS” that will co-fund up to $220,000 to drill bedrock conductors prospective for massive and disseminated nickel sulphides.
Recent electromagnetic surveys located two conductors the company has identified as targets for Nova-Bollinger nickel-copper and Voisey Bay nickel-style deposits.
Modelling reveals a 2km x 1km sub-vertical 1000 Siemens conductor at a depth of 360m.
The company says the conductor is in a favourable position for nickel sulphide deposits along the basal contact of the Diorite Hill magmatic complex.
The EIS funding will enable a deeper hole to be drilled to 600m and Great Southern will use RC and diamond drilling to test the conductor.
Great Southern Mining Executive Chairman, John Terpu said: “The company has methodically progressed the East Laverton nickel project from the concept stage to the modelling of these compelling conductors. The next logical step is to drill test them.”
“As a discovery company, it doesn’t get much more exciting than this.”
The Diorite Hill complex includes the Rotorua deposit to the south and Curara to the east where the company is planning to do another electromagnetic survey.
The areas have had little nickel exploration, with komatiite-style mineralisation the focus of the company.
The survey is expected to begin after the completion of next month’s drill program.
Great Southern has tenements in highly prospective terrain at Laverton in WA and Mt Carlton in North Queensland.
The East Laverton nickel project is, not surprisingly, 15km east of Laverton where the company maintains an exploration base to service its significant exploration portfolio in the region, including the Southern Star gold deposit.
Southern Star is 4km along strike to the south of Regis Resources’ Ben Hur Deposit and 32km south of Garden Well Mill which in 2021 yielded some impressive numbers, including 17m going 7.0g/t gold, 2m grading 56.7g/t gold and 1m at 109g/t gold from 111m.
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By Matt Birney
