ASX-listed Metal Hawk has lit up a string of bedrock conductors, potentially pointing to the presence of massive nickel sulphides following a ground electromagnetic survey at its Berehaven project located some 20km southeast of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia. Several of the identified conductors lie along strike from the company’s exciting massive nickel-sulphide Commodore discovery which has returned assays up to 5.89 per cent nickel.
The junior explorer raised a few eyebrows last September when its share price catapulted from $0.185 to $0.76 on the back of the Commodore discovery.
At the time the company reported portable XRF analysis of drill chips from one of the holes that confirmed a 2 metre intercept to host semi-massive nickel sulphide mineralisation akin to the world-class Kambalda style komatiite hosted nickel deposits in the region.
Follow up assaying of the discovery drill hole returned 1 metre going an eye-catching 5.89 per cent nickel from 144m.
Importantly, the mineralised intercept was situated at the basal contact of footwall felsic rocks, directly beneath 12m of weathered gossanous ultramafic rocks which is a key geological feature of Kambalda-style nickel deposits.
Several other notable intercepts from additional RC and diamond drilling followed including 1m going 1.49 per cent nickel from 144m and a thicker 3.4m chiming in at 2.32 per cent nickel from 203.8m.
The Commodore prospect lies just 5km north of the historical Blair nickel mine that churned out some 1.26 million tonnes at 2.62 per cent nickel for nearly 33,000 tonnes of contained metal between 1989 and mine closure in 2008.
The company’s Berehaven tenure covers some 10km of strike extent along a poorly tested north-northwest trending greenstone belt that plays host to a sequence of ultramafic rocks considered highly prospective for nickel mineralisation.
Despite the project’s proximity to the world-class Kambalda-style komatiite hosted nickel deposits, Metal Hawk’s nickel hunt is the first of its kind over this patch of dirt. The lack of nickel exploration is largely due to a thick, weathered “blanket” that covers the area, relegating previous attempts at surface electromagnetics ineffective at identifying bedrock conductors.
Management says a high-powered moving loop transient electromagnetic survey, or “MLTEM” commenced in January and was designed to test much of the 10km strike of the prospective greenstone belt, along with several other interesting ultramafic trends within its tenure.
The modelled MTLEM conductors can sometimes point to the presence of massive sulphides that are prospective for nickel and other base metals providing valuable drill targets.
The company says six priority bedrock conductors have been modelled with over 50 per cent of the survey area completed. Three of the conductors have been identified within the same ultramafic trend that hosts the Commodore prospect. The remaining three conductors are sited along untested ultramafic trends.
With a bevy of electromagnetic conductors lighting up the belt at Berehaven, Metal Hawk has underlined its option to snap up the nickel rights over 12 neighbouring tenements from Horizon Minerals.
Under the agreement with Horizon, Metal Hawk initially transferred 1.5 million fully paid shares to Horizon as an option fee with a further 3 million fully paid shares payable within 18 months to exercise the nickel rights option.
The deal sees Metal Hawk consolidate its tenure over 90 square kilometres of prime nickel-hosting terrain.
Metal Hawk Managing Director, Will Belbin said: “In conjunction with the extensive and systematic aircore drilling we have undertaken, the new EM results have continued to develop a number of outstanding nickel sulphide targets. We are confident there will be more nickel discoveries at Berehaven and we have now exercised the nickel rights option with Horizon. We look forward to bedrock testing some of these priority EM conductors in coming weeks.”
In somewhat of a sweetener, the company recently reported the footwall felsic sequence also hosts high-grade gold with the maiden diamond drill hole intersecting a handy 5.2m returning 7.2 grams per tonne of gold from 244.4m. Surprisingly, the hole finished in mineralisation and begs the question, how far can it go?
Metal Hawk now intends to complete the ground electromagnetic survey across the broader Berehaven project, with both RC and diamond drill rigs waiting in the wings to test the high priority bedrock conductors.
With the price of nickel tipping the scales at ten-year highs at over US$25,000 and gold rallying on the back of increasing tension between Russia and the West, Metal Hawk is well placed to explore the potential of multiple compelling nickel and gold targets in some prime nickel and precious metal territory.
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