Venus Metals Corporation has pounced on a hefty 546 square kilometres of exploration ground prospective for nickel, copper, platinum group elements, gold and rare earths in the renowned Gascoyne region of Western Australia. Two of the new licences, one granted and one under application, adjoin tenure hosting a 1km-long outcropping structure where rock chip samples have returned 1 per cent copper and 0.6 per cent nickel.
The neighbouring ground is being worked under a farm-in agreement between Dreadnought Resources and First Quantum Minerals, who are targeting nickel-copper-platinum-palladium mineralisation associated with the mafic-ultramafic ‘Money Intrusion’.
The farm-in involves some serious exploration spending with First Quantum needing to outlay $15 million to earn 51 per cent in the venture.
The outcropping structure, which also delivered rock chip samples of 0.04 per cent cobalt and 0.3 grams per tonne combined platinum-palladium-gold, lies in the northern part of the Money Intrusion only 3km from Venus’ new ground.
Venus’ two adjoining licences, to come under the ‘Mangaroon North project’ banner, take in 295 sq.km of dirt and reportedly host several geological structures that are “highly prospective” for magmatic nickel-copper-platinum-palladium mineralisation similar to that discovered in the Money Intrusion.
Curiously, management says the two concessions also host potential for gold mineralisation along strike from the historical Star of Mangaroon gold mine and other structural targets overlaying multiple shear zones and fault zones.
The privately-owned Star of Mangaroon, located only about 1km from Venus’ tenure, produced some 7,500 ounces of gold at an eye-catching 34 g/t gold between 1960 and 1983.
Venus is eyeing initial field mapping, rock chip sampling and geochemical sampling to target nickel-copper-platinum-palladium mineralisation on the newly granted land.
Further to the east, Venus has two concessions under application. It has designated the ground as its ‘Yangibana North’ rare earths project.
Intriguingly, one of the licences lies just 10km north of the Yangibana carbonatite field where ASX-listed Hastings Technology Metals is looking to develop a 24.7 million tonne resource going at 0.97 per cent total rare earth oxides or “TREO”.
Venus says rare earth targets have already been identified in the southern part of the licence along magnetic trends showing similar orientation to the Yangibana carbonatites.
Dreadnought Resources also recently identified high-grade rare earth ironstone outcrops stretching for 2.5km at its tenure, some 15km south-west of Yangibana.
Dreadnought says the ironstones are similar to those at Yangibana with rock chips returning 7.5 per cent TREO, 4.77 per cent TREO and 4.76 per cent TREO.
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By Matt Birney
