New zones of massive to semi-massive nickel-copper sulphides have been picked up in two recently drilled holes at Legend Mining’s Mawson nickel-copper-cobalt prospect in Western Australia’s Fraser Range. The intercepts 200m north and west of previous drilling continue to expand “the 3D footprint of the mineralised intrusive” at the key Rockford project area, according to Legend.
Mawson is outside of a regional joint venture framework Legend and Rockford partner Mark Creasy struck with IGO Ltd, which has Australia’s top performing nickel-copper mine at Nova, about 150 kilometres away in the under-explored region.
The Mawson Intrusive Complex is a 16km-by-6km aeromagnetic feature that has been hiding a lot of its mineral riches under deep cover. Hence the need for relatively deep drilling in some zones.
Latest results for nine diamond holes in the ongoing program include an intersection of 31.2m of sulphides, taking in 16.1m of massive and semi-massive nickel-copper sulphide and 7.77m of matrix nickel-copper sulphide between about 132m and 162m depth.
Three other holes intersected wide sulphide zones that extend the “prospective intrusion 200m north and west of previous drilling”.
Legend said ongoing electromagnetics, or “EM” on Mawson were identifying “multiple targets” for follow-up.
Legend Managing Director Mark Wilson said ongoing drilling and EM should see the target area evolve.
He said: “Systematic step-out drilling continues to expand the 3D footprint of the mineralised intrusive and open up further prospective horizons for future planned drilling.”
The step-out drilling continues to not only define the mineralised intrusion but also the architecture of the Mawson intrusion.
Legend said assays received from a batch of recent Mawson drill holes returned intervals of low-grade nickel-copper in the range of 0.05-0.2 per cent nickel with “disseminated sulphide in mafic/ultramafic intrusive, as expected”.
Results from two holes, RKDD043 and RKDD044 that hit significant nickel-copper sulphide intervals, as detailed in a late April report, are expected within the next two-to-three weeks.
Legend and Creasy Group own 70 per cent and 30 per cent, respectively, of Mawson and some related ground.
On ground farmed-out to IGO there are two groups with IGO holding 60 per cent of one group, Creasy Group holding 30 per cent and Legend 10 per cent. The other group is owned 70 per cent by IGO and 30 per cent by Legend.
In each of these Legend is free carried through to development.
Legend also owns some outlying ground around Rockford 100 per cent.
As the first modern mine developer in the Albany Fraser Belt, IGO has not only grown as the major player it has also in recent years either joint ventured with or taken over some of the companies that rushed into the region after the discovery of Nova in 2012.
That watershed find took discoverer Sirius Resources from 5c to $5.
Sirius’ partner was none other than Mark Creasy, the mining engineer who wanted to be a geologist whose discoveries in WA made him Australia’s richest prospector by a country mile.
Through these deals Creasy is also a major shareholder in both Legend and IGO.
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