Venture Minerals’ South West Nickel-Copper-PGE project that Chalice Mining has referred to as a Julimar “look-a-like” is starting to take shape. JV partner Chalice has unearthed multiple targets at the project and in doing so it has now completed stage one of its joint venture expenditure commitment with Venture. The agreement between the parties requires Chalice to spend a minimum of $300,000 on exploration activities at the South West project by the 30th of November 2021.
Venture’s Southwest project is located approximately 240 kilometres south of Perth in the Balingup metamorphic belt that makes up part of the prospective West Yilgarn nickel-copper-PGE province discovered by Chalice.
The majority of the expenditure by Chalice to date has focused on Venture’s Thor target, a 20km long magnetic anomaly that Chalice has previously defined as a Julimar lookalike.
Chalice’s Julimar deposit, approximately 70km northeast of Perth, was recently crowned the biggest nickel sulphide discovery in 20 years and the largest platinum group element resource ever discovered in Australia. Julimar hosts a bonanza 1.9 million tonnes of nickel equivalent and 17 million ounces in palladium equivalent.
The first phase of exploration activity completed by Chalice included a ground electromagnetic or “EM” survey focussing on Venture’s Thor prospect. The ground survey aimed to zero in on target areas created from a previous airborne EM survey by Venture that delineated 13 highly conductive anomalies.
Chalice plans to follow up the bedrock conductors identified in the EM survey with a soil geochemistry program to define potential drill targets.
If it decides to drill the targets it has identified at the South West project, the company will need to spend $1.2 million by the 29th of July 2022, inclusive of money already spent, to earn 51 per cent of the project. If Chalice elects to spend a further $2.5 million it will earn a 70 per cent stake in Venture’s South West nickel-copper-PGE project.
Initial EM results interpreted by Chalice have already defined new EM anomalies that the company says are of a similar strength to those that yielded wide and significant palladium intervals during the early drilling phase of the Julimar discovery.
Importantly one of the new EM anomalies identified at the Thor prospect is within 10 metres of a historical drillhole that intersected an 86m wide section of disseminated sulphides and anomalous levels of PGE mineralisation.
Venture Minerals’ Managing Director, Andrew Radonjic said: “With Venture’s JV partner Chalice Mining completing the first stage of the JV earn-in through the completion of a detailed EM survey, the Company now eagerly awaits the survey results.”
“The knowledge gained from Chalice’s Julimar discoveries will be a huge advantage in determining which conductors should be drilled first and this no doubt increases the probability of bringing a discovery forward. This is the main reason why Venture decided to partner with Chalice on this project as it clearly increases the chances of success which benefits all of the Company’s shareholders”.
Unlike the army of explorers that have recently flooded into the region in search of the next spectacular Julimar style discovery Venture has a significant advantage – Chalice.
Chalice come to the joint venture table armed to the teeth with the geology from its amazing Julimar discovery and if anyone can find another similar deposit it is probably Chalice.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au
By Matt Birney
