Venture Minerals’ JV earn-in with market darling Chalice Mining is off to a flyer after the latter generated seven new electromagnetic, or “EM” targets from a ground-based survey at the duo’s South West Nickel-Copper-PGE Project 240 kilometres south of Perth. The survey brings the total number of new EM-derived targets to 11. The company’s latest work is focused on Venture’s Thor target, a 20km-long magnetic anomaly that has drawn comparisons to Chalice’s revered Julimar discovery.
Chalice says it has now received the final EM data set and is currently running interpretation works of the 11 EM anomalies, which include soil geochemistry, to assist in prioritising the targets in preparation for an impending drilling campaign.
Under the terms of the agreement, Chalice will need to spend a total sum of $1.2 million by late July to earn a 51 per cent stake in the project and an additional $2.5 million to earn 70 per cent. The company has to date ploughed $400,000 into Venture’s South West Nickel-Copper-PGE Project, with most of the funds focused on the Thor target.
According to Venture, the seven new EM anomalies unveiled through Chalice’s recent survey exhibit similar geologic characteristics to those of its famed Julimar Nickel-Copper-PGE discovery. The new conductors boast wide and significant palladium intervals similar to those identified in the early-stage drilling of Julimar.
Interestingly, one of the new EM anomalies also coincides where previous exploration uncovered a 2.4 metres massive sulphide intersection that averaged 0.5 per cent copper, 0.05 pe cent nickel, 0.04 per cent cobalt, with patches of anomalous gold and palladium.
Chalice’s stellar Julimar deposit, lies some 70km northeast of Perth and was recently christened Australia’s largest nickel sulphide discovery in two decades and the country’s biggest platinum group element resource. The deposit boasts a bonanza 1.9 million tonnes of nickel equivalent and 17 million ounces of palladium equivalent.
Venture Minerals’ Managing Director, Andrew Radonjic said:"Venture’s JV partner Chalice Mining has now delivered several new EM anomalies within the Thor “Julimar lookalike” target from the first stage of the JV earn-in to the Company’s South West Project. To have a partner that has “one of the largest greenfield Ni-Cu-PGE sulphide discoveries in recent history” will be of huge benefit in this very important second stage of the JV with Chalice, including a maiden drill program at Thor.”
Following the Julimar discovery, a swathe of new explorers have set-up shop in the region looking to carve out their own slice of the mineral-rich and potentially lucrative ground. Venture, however, has one distinct advantage – Chalice is serving as a project partner.
Venture’s partnership with Chalice adds weight to the company’s “Julimar look-a-like” project tag, and if anyone is able to sniff out another monster nickel-copper-PGE deposit, it will likely be Chalice.
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By Matt Birney
