Venus Metals is adding another chapter to its growing Youanmi mineral province story in WA’s central west with the first drilling results from its 90%-owned Vidure polymetallic project encountering promising base metals and platinum group elements, “or PGE”, mineralisation.
Four RC holes partially testing previously identified electromagnetic targets near the historical Vidure prospect discovered a significant extension of the Vidure West mineralisation towards the north, including 10 metres at 0.46% copper and 0.25% nickel from a depth of 103m and 22m at 0.28% copper and 0.14% nickel from 102m.
The first intersection also included 1m at 0.89% copper and 0.33% nickel from 104m.
A third hole revealed an extensive zone of platinum and palladium enriched disseminated nickel and copper mineralisation at a shallow depth, including 38m at 0.78g/t PGE, 0.16% copper and 0.25% nickel from 20m, with this intercept also returning 12m at 1.32g/t PGE, 0.17% copper and 0.37 nickel from 45m.
According to Venus, this style of mineralisation can be correlated with the Vidure surface copper-nickel-PGE geochemical anomaly, prompting the company to launch an extensive diamond drilling program to test the mineralisation at depth.
Located in Venus’ Youanmi holdings, within which the company is currently returning some stunning gold intersections in an exploration joint venture with Rox Resources, Vidure was originally identified as a nickel-copper-PGE surface geochemical anomaly on the southern margin of the Youanmi layered mafic intrusion during the early 1970s.
Subsequent exploration identified a second style of copper-nickel-silver mineralisation with no clear surface expression at Vidure West.
Base metals mineralisation was first highlighted at Vidure West by WMC in 1973 in an historical diamond hole that included 1.22m at 2.2% nickel and 0.14% copper from 135m.
Then, in 1985, BHP encountered 8m at 1.47% copper, 0.13% nickel and 5g/t gold from 120.5m, including 0.71m at 7.01 copper, 0.8% nickel and 21g/t silver from 122.35m.
According to Venus, a diamond drill rig has already been mobilised to complete one of the recent RC holes that was stopped at 257m due to excess water, with the company now looking to extend this to 375m.
It will also lengthen two of the other holes to test for potential footwall mineralisation.
In addition, another RC hole is scheduled to test the continuation of the Vidure West mineralisation towards the west.
Lots still to come from this growing story.
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By Matt Birney
