Panther pounces on high-grade WA nickel-cobalt

Minerals explorer Panther Metals has hit a new high from drilling at its Coglia project in the Laverton region of WA with initial assays delivering the best nickel and cobalt grades to date at the venture. The headline results were a 1 metre intercept going 3.77 per cent nickel from 74m in one hole and another 1m section at 3160 parts per million cobalt from 49m in another.

The nickel hit was housed in a larger 21m strike grading 1.34 per cent nickel from 72m with a 12m inclusion going 1.87 per cent nickel from 74m.

The record cobalt strike sat inside a 12m section grading just over 1 per cent nickel from 47m with a higher grade 7m component at 1.14 per cent nickel from 49m. Cobalt mineralisation included a 5m unit grading 1812 parts per million from 47m.

Since its listing in December the Perth-based company has been busy on the tools with the latest numbers coming from its second batch of drilling results. The company says it is still awaiting additional assays for over 30 holes.

Management has announced it’s close to concluding exploration at Coglia, after sinking around 6000m in an RC campaign that has seen around half the holes assayed.

According to the company the work has detected an extension to the previous nickel and cobalt mineralisation pocket, along with elevated grades speckled inside thick zones of lateritic mineralisation both inside and beyond its current exploration target.

Panther says once all outstanding data from the campaign at Coglia is in, it plans to craft a maiden mineral resource estimate at the project.

Drilling at Coglia is expected to be finished in a week, after that the rig will relocate to the nearby Eight Foot Well gold project to commence a 2,500m RC infill drilling program.

The company says exploration at the Eight Foot Well project is aimed at investigating the ground’s potential to host a shallow gold resource.

The Coglia project is 70 kilometres east of Glencore's Murrin Murrin nickel-cobalt facility. The project's territory boasts the potential to host both nickel sulphide and nickel-cobalt laterite mineralisation.

Panther is now stalking an upgrade of the current exploration target to a mineral resource estimate once it completes its 6000m infill drill campaign that will provide material for metallurgical, mineralogical, and environmental testing.

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