Legend sets sights on new deep WA nickel-copper target

Legend Mining is priming the drill bit for the Magnus prospect within at its Rockford project in Western Australia’s Fraser Range after picking up four highly-conductive plates using its advanced high-powered fixed-loop electromagnetic survey (HPFLTEM).

The most significant plate, with conductance measuring up to 5000 siemens, sits at the edge of a gravity anomaly and 550m below the deepest drilling to date. It hints at what the company believes is an undetected, but mineral-rich target, with geological signs pointing to a potential Nova-Bollinger-style nickel-copper sulphide deposit.

Owned by ASX-listed mining giant IGO, the Nova-Bollinger deposit boasts an impressive 11 million tonnes at 1.52 per cent nickel, 0.615 per cent copper and 0.05 per cent cobalt.

Legend says the latest find is a milestone moment as its in-house-designed equipment used in the survey has turned conventional EM survey methods on their head by being able to detect conductors at depths below 600m from the surface.

The company will now focus on finalising land access agreements with the Upurli Upurli Nguratja Aboriginal Corporation before moving ahead with diamond drilling operations to further investigate the targets.

Legend Mining executive chairman Mark Wilson said: “These are some of the better results from EM surveying conducted by Legend at the Rockford Project. The size, strength and interpreted geological setting of zone 3, in particular, makes this zone a promising drill target.”

In addition to the latest developments at Magnus, the company has also begun a moving-loop electromagnetic (MLTEM) survey at Area Y – a zone that lies 10km south-west of its Mawson project – in a bid to find a replica of the 1.45 million tonne deposit that features a grade of 1.14 per cent nickel, 0.74 per cent copper and 0.07 per cent cobalt.

Air-core (AC) drilling in 2022 pinpointed several prospective intrusions in the new area that were also confirmed with aeromagnetic and gravity surveys.

The MLTEM campaign is therefore aiming to investigate previously drill-detected conductive plates and their relationship to intrusions, which – if picked up by the survey – could indicate the presence of nickel-copper sulphide targets.

The company’s next steps include incorporating AI and machine learning in its analysis to refine drill targets across Magnus, along with the processing of MLTEM survey results at Area Y.

With the work done to design new and advanced, deep-penetrating EM survey equipment, Legend appears to have found an edge on its competitors and could it be a defining moment for the company in terms of low-cost exploration.

Magnus was named after a champion Australian thoroughbred racehorse and sire, who died last year at the age of 21 … but Legend’s mission now seems very much alive. And in the Fraser Range race to lift the exploration cup by discovering the next Nova-Bollinger deposit, the bookies may just be shortening the company’s odds right about now.

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