Estrella Resources looks to be on target as it continues drilling across its T5 nickel sulphide target in WA. Latest drill results from the discovery include an impressive 12.9m sulphide intercept, which hosts several zones of semi-to-massive nickel-rich mineralisation. The new zone of sulphides forms part of the Upper T5 conductor and is located 40m south of previous drilling, extending the envelope of this exciting nickel discovery.
In order to target the current drilling program, the company has used earlier drilling to facilitate a comprehensive down-hole electromagnetic, or “EM” survey which has lit up targets along several hundred metres of strike.
Estrella’s ongoing diamond drilling program is designed to systematically test these targets across T5 discovery by drilling deep mother holes on regular sections adjacent to the EM conductors, then wedging a number of daughter holes off the parent to test the deep targets, some of which are more than 450m below surface.
Drilling to date has focused on the Upper T5 conductor, which is more than 300m wide and extends more than 100m vertically. In addition, the company identified a Lower T5 target and new footwall conductor to be tested as part of the company’s ongoing drilling campaign.
Estrella Resources Managing Director, Chris Daws said:“I am extremely pleased with this significant intersection as it further validates our exploration strategy at the T5 Conductor. Make no mistake, our resolve to locate a world class orebody for our shareholders is unwavering and this intersection is yet another promising sign that we are homing in on this orebody. Phase 3 drilling in particular has been highly successful, with a 100 percent strike rate for hitting nickel-copper sulphides.”
The Carr Boyd nickel sulphide project is 80km north-northeast of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia’s nickel and gold rich Eastern Goldfields. The company’s strategic tenement position takes in the renowned Carr Boyd nickel mine and its surrounds. The now defunct mine was discovered in the 1960s and operated by Western Mining during the 1970s, producing about 200,000 tonnes of ore grading at a healthy 1.43 per cent nickel and 0.46 per cent copper.
Whilst a gaggle of explorers have had a crack at a new discovery in the region since that time it has been Estrella’s application of modern exploration techniques and geological modelling that has come up trumps, uncovering the T5 discovery in late 2020.
T5 sits just 400m to the north of the Carr Boyd mine in a similar geological position to the old mine, adjacent to the basal contact with the host ultramafic unit. Drilling continues to turn up solid intersections of disseminated to massive sulphides, with the current program probing the discovery at more than 300m below surface.
Estrella’s regional exploration program is also paying dividends with the company having now identified the mineralised contact at Carr Boyd along more than 3.5km of strike, prompting a fourth phase of drilling that is scheduled to kick off in the weeks ahead.
With the company continuing to return solid intercepts of sulphide mineralisation and samples headed to the lab, Estrella is potentially outlining a significant mineralised lode at T5. And with EM lighting up a swag of new targets along strike, the nickel explorer is likely to have its hands full in the months ahead.
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