Lefroy pivots to nickel hunt at Lake Johnston

Fresh from ongoing success in the Eastern Goldfields, Lefroy Exploration has switched its attention to the west, to embark on an early-stage quest at another enticing prospect near Lake Johnson. The company’s Bullseye target has sat untouched for more than 20 years and is defined by a 2.5-kilometre-wide ovoid-shaped aeromagnetic anomaly which Lefroy believes may represent an underlining mafic or ultramafic intrusion.

Lefroy Exploration’s latest quest has commenced with a 30-hole aircore drilling program aiming for nickel mineralisation on Lake Johnston, 120 kilometres west of Norseman in the Yilgarn field of Western Australia.

The company is drilling in a region which has not been followed up since it was last drilled in 1997. Lefroy said the better drill results from drilling on Bullseye at the time included hole RTRB16 which intercepted a healthy 18 metres at 0.46 per cent nickel from 20m depth. Another hole, RTRB24, hit 9 metres at 0.48 per cent from 4m, including 4m at 0.68 per cent nickel.

The positive results were left untouched by parties who seemed not to have a strong focus on nickel at the time. Reinterpretation of the drilling and geophysical data by Lefroy suggests the broad magnetic feature may represent a buried mafic or ultramafic intrusion that may host nickel sulphide mineralisation. Interestingly, given its success in Lake Lefroy, if the company can produce the goods at Lake Johnston it may soon start being regarded as something of a salt-lake nickel and gold exploration specialist.

At Bullseye, the 30-hole program is expected to take five days to complete and will consist of two traverses on the existing drill lines to determine the basement geology and multi-element geochemistry.

Results should be available in late January next year.

Lefroy’s project at Lake Johnston takes in two granted exploration permits held by the company and another held by Lithium Australia. These permits are part of a cohesive package covering more than 250 square kilometres in the Lake Johnston Greenstone Belt.

Lefroy holds the gold and nickel rights and other metals not associated with pegmatites under an agreement with Lithium Australia.

Is your ASX listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au