ASX-listed gold and nickel explorer Metal Hawk says RC drilling at its Berehaven project, about 25km south-east of Kalgoorlie, has extended the Torana prospect’s target zone after logging new zones of disseminated nickel sulphides.
The latest program came across more thick intervals of ultramafic rocks with visible nickel sulphides found, prompting Metal Hawk management to believe the open strike length of the targeted ultramafic unit now extends to almost 1km.
Disseminated nickel sulphides were observed in RC drill chips and verified by portable X-ray fluorescence, or pXRF analysis further highlighting the nickel fertility of the untested ultramafic belt.
The latest campaign at Berehaven, one of Metal Hawks’ three projects in the Eastern Goldfields, comprised 3,300m of RC drilling, including five drillholes at its Torana prospect.
Torana is 1.5km north and along strike from the Commodore prospect where Metal Hawk discovered high-grade nickel sulphide last September.
Headline results included a 1m interval grading 5.89 per cent nickel from 144m downhole.
RC drilling at Torana has since intersected significant thicknesses of high magnesium oxide rocks.
A downhole electromagnetic, or “DHEM” program of surveys is now underway at Torana — to assist in refining an electromagnetic conductor plate measuring a high conductance of about 3000 Siemens.
Metal Hawk says surface EM along the Commodore trend has had limited effectiveness because of extremely weathered rocks combined with the transitional nature of the nickel sulphides present. So DHEM surveying is essential along this part the belt.
The plan is that the DHEM survey results, together with assays from the latest RC campaign, will refine targets for further RC and diamond drilling.
Metal Hawk Managing Director Will Belbin says: “DHEM surveys will now be completed in several holes and will allow us to develop new follow-up massive sulphide drill targets. The EM surveys will also help us refine the priority DHEM conductor at Torana prior to diamond drill-testing.”
Besides the work at Torana, several regional RC holes were also completed as part of the campaign, testing geophysical electromagnetic targets identified from moving loop electromagnetic or “MLEM” surveys conducted earlier this year.
The regional drilling completed has identified high magnesium oxide komatiites at several locations east of Commodore.
Metal Hawk has consolidated more than 90 square kilometres of what it regards as underexplored tenure at Berehaven, located north of the Blair nickel sulphide deposit.
The company also has interests in two projects totalling more than 980sq km and targeting gold, nickel copper in the Albany-Fraser Orogen, east of Norseman.
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By Matt Birney
