ASX-listed Estrella Resources has dished up a 22.85m intercept of nickel-copper sulphides above a previous hit that returned 20.1m going 1.04 per cent nickel at its T5 discovery north of Kalgoorlie in WA. Results from the current phase-three campaign are due soon as the company continues to advance its geological understanding of the prospect ahead of the next stage of its exploration.
Estrella has come a long way since its phase-one drilling in 2019 returned 8m at 1.11 per cent nickel and 0.36 per cent copper at T5 within its wholly-owned 259 sq.km Carr Boyd project.
The company’s expansive Carr Boyd tenure hosts about 75 sq.km of a mafic and ultramafic igneous complex featuring multiple nickel and copper sulphide occurrences. They include the historical Carr Boyd Rocks mine.
Last year a phase-two step-out drilling campaign at T5 delivered multiple massive sulphide hits including the 20.1m intercept going 1.04 per cent nickel and 0.67 per cent copper from 368.5m. Another hole returned 13.9m at 1.18 per cent nickel from 431.6m.
Estrella has recently had its hands full at T5 with two diamond drill rigs smashing out the metres as part of the phase-three drilling campaign that is now half complete. Assays are pending for a number of impressive new nickel sulphide intersections.
As part of the phase-three campaign the company is using multiple wedge holes to test for mineralisation above and below previous intercepts. The latest hole was designed to test the open area above the nickel sulphide hits from the phase-two campaign.
Estrella reports that it has advanced its understanding of the T5 geological model with massive sulphide lodes appearing to lie perpendicular to stratigraphy.
Management believes further massive nickel-copper sulphide mineralisation may be identified up plunge to the north and down plunge to the south toward the Carr Boyd Rocks historical mine. Remaining phase-three drilling will test this theory.
The mine was operational in the 1970s and saw production of 202,100t of ore going 1.43 per cent nickel and 0.46 per cent copper. Estrella is investigating the possible links at depth between the mineralisation from the historical mine and the massive sulphides discovered at T5.
Estrella Managing Director, Chris Daws said:
“Our sustained drilling efforts at Carr Boyd continue to provide strong evidence that a substantial body of nickel-copper-iron sulphides can be located within our 100 per cent-owned Carr Boyd project area. The company has never been in a stronger position than it is today to unlock Carr Boyd’s potential.”
As well as the ongoing drilling of potential T5 extensions Estrella has turned its attention to further exploration campaigns at Carr Boyd over the remainder of the year and into 2022.
A phase-four drilling campaign in the second half of 2021 will target areas above the existing mineralisation at T5, whilst a 3.5km strike extension to the north of T5 will also be tested. Further drilling is planned to the south of Carr Boyd Rocks.
Early next year a phase-five campaign will look to build on results from the earlier programs. Various regional targets within the broader Carr Boyd tenure will also be tested.
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By Matt Birney
