Accelerate Resources Ltd (ASX:AX8) earlier this week outlined further progress at its Woodie Woodie North Manganese Project, where recent fieldwork has identified more than 200 manganese outcrops and occurrences across approximately 9.7 hectares of surface exposure.
CEO Luke Meter told Proactive that new rock-chip sampling had returned grades of up to 58.4% manganese, while mapping, LiDAR interpretation and gravity surveying were giving the company a clearer picture of the structural controls on mineralisation.
Meter said the project was “starting to shape up as quite a significant discovery”, with recent work indicating manganese mineralisation associated with structural corridors and, in some cases, intersections between structures.
Those intersections could become an important focus for exploration. Meter said the company understood such locations to be prospective for potentially larger or higher-grade mineralised bodies.
One of the priority areas is Rancor, where Accelerate Resources has mapped a continuous chert-manganese outcrop covering more than one hectare. Meter said veins visible below the outcrop in the surrounding dolomites could represent feeder structures.
The planned drilling program is therefore expected to test both the surface mineralisation and its possible continuation at depth. Accelerate Resources intends to prioritise Garrigan, Gingerbread and Rancor, which are located relatively close to one another.
Meter said the company’s initial objective would be to confirm that the mineralisation seen at surface continues below ground before attempting to identify deeper root systems that could contribute additional scale.
Drilling represents a key near-term catalyst, alongside further mapping and sampling intended to improve the company’s understanding of the broader mineralised corridor.
A separate workstream at Area 42 could also be significant. Accelerate Resources already has a resource there of around 700,000 tonnes at almost 21% manganese and is preparing metallurgical diamond drilling.
Meter said that work would assess direct shipping ore potential as well as possible processing pathways. He added that Area 42’s location close to neighbouring operations and port infrastructure could provide an opportunity for earlier monetisation, subject to the outcome of the metallurgical work.
Investors will therefore be watching the upcoming drilling results, metallurgical testing and continued surface exploration as Accelerate Resources seeks to establish the scale and continuity of the Woodie Woodie North manganese system.
Interview highlights
- Accelerate Resources has mapped more than 200 manganese outcrops and occurrences at the Woodie Woodie North Manganese Project.
- The mapped surface occurrences cover approximately 9.7 hectares.
- Recent rock-chip sampling returned grades of up to 58.4% manganese.
- Luke Meter said Woodie Woodie North was “starting to shape up as quite a significant discovery”.
- Mapping, LiDAR and gravity surveying are helping the company identify the structural controls on the manganese system.
- Accelerate Resources believes structural intersections may be especially important locations for larger or higher-grade mineralised bodies.
- Rancor hosts a continuous chert-manganese outcrop covering more than one hectare.
- Veins observed beneath the Rancor surface outcrop may represent feeder structures, which the company plans to test with drilling.
- Initial drilling priorities include Garrigan, Gingerbread and Rankor.
- The drilling program will aim to confirm whether surface mineralisation continues at depth and identify potential root systems.
- At Area 42, the company has an existing resource of about 700,000 tonnes at almost 21% manganese.
- Planned metallurgical diamond drilling at Area 42 will assess direct shipping ore potential and possible processing pathways.
- Accelerate Resources also plans further mapping and sampling across the broader project area alongside drilling.
Proactive: Accelerate Resources CEO Luke Meter joins me this morning to discuss the latest results from the Woodie Woodie North Manganese Project, where more than 200 manganese outcrops and occurrences have now been mapped, covering around 9.7 hectares. New rock-chip sampling has also returned high-grade results of up to 58.4% manganese, adding further momentum ahead of planned drilling.
Luke, good morning.
Luke Meter: Good morning.
Proactive: Thanks for your time today. Before we get into these latest results, can you give us a high-level reminder of what you’re actually looking for?
Luke Meter: Accelerate Resources has two main projects, the Woodie Woodie North Manganese Project and the Balagundi Gold Project. At Woodie Woodie North, we’re really looking for high-grade, hydrothermally controlled mineralisation similar to that seen at the nearby Woodie Woodie manganese operation.
Proactive: You’ve just released results recently. What can you tell us about those results and the scale of the opportunity you’re beginning to define?
Luke Meter: The Woodie Woodie North Project is really starting to shape up as quite a significant discovery.
The tenure had been held by the company for a while, but it wasn’t until last year, when it was granted, that we were able to get boots on the ground and start doing the work. That work is now starting to show results.
Over the last few months, we’ve completed a lot more mapping and identified many additional outcrops. In conjunction with new LiDAR data, we’ve now identified more than 200 outcrops, with some significant results including around 58% manganese.
In addition, we’ve completed gravity surveying across the project. That has helped us understand how the manganese is forming. It is showing us that the manganese occurs along specific structural corridors and, in some places where we’re seeing larger outcrops, at structural intersections.
From what we’ve been told, those intersection points are particularly promising for potentially developing larger and higher-grade ore bodies.
Proactive: Rancor appears particularly interesting. What are you hoping drilling will establish beneath that surface mineralisation?
Luke Meter: Rancor is certainly a very large outcrop. It’s a prominent hill in the district, and on top of it there is a quite continuous chert-manganese outcrop that is more than a hectare in size.
We’ve done a lot of mapping and we’re seeing high-grade material. We plan to get up there and drill into that.
What we find interesting is that when we walk around the side of the hill, we can actually see veins below the chert-manganese outcrop within the dolomites. We’re hoping those represent some of the feeder structures.
When we drill, one part of the program will be to drill from the top and test the mineralisation we see at surface. We also want to drill from the base of the hill underneath it to test those potential feeder structures.
Proactive: The results follow the gravity survey. Can you talk us through how combining that gravity data with LiDAR mapping and rock-chip sampling changes your understanding of the geology and the system?
Luke Meter: It helps us understand the plumbing of the area.
Because these are hydrothermal systems, we know they require plumbing for the fluids to move through. What we’re seeing is an extensive plumbing network.
We’re in the right rocks, similar to what we see at Woodie Woodie. We have the right plumbing and now we’re seeing the mineralisation.
What it also tells us is the scale. As you said in the introduction, we’ve identified more than 200 outcrops, which map out to more than 9.7 hectares of surface exposure.
We’re also looking beyond the areas where the company has worked previously. We’re now doing additional work between these corridors, where we continue to see extensive structures and faults, with the aim of filling in our understanding of the broader mineralised trend.
Proactive: You’re targeting manganese drilling again in the coming weeks. What are the priority targets, and what would constitute a successful first drilling program?
Luke Meter: The priorities will be Gingarrgan, Gingerbread and Rancor. They are all clusters near each other, within roughly a one-by-one-kilometre area, and that’s where we’ll be spending most of our time initially.
The first objective is to confirm that the surface mineralisation we’re seeing is genuine and continues below surface.
Then we want to identify the root systems that take the mineralisation to depth and could potentially provide the tonnage we’re looking for.
Proactive: Alongside this, you’re preparing metallurgical diamond drilling at Area 42. How does that work complement the exploration program and potentially advance the broader Woodie Woodie North Project?
Luke Meter: Area 42 has been in the books for a while. We already have a resource there of around 700,000 tonnes at almost 21% manganese.
We want to carry out metallurgical drilling and understand the potential for direct shipping ore, as well as any processing pathways.
Being so close to neighbours and also the port, there may be an opportunity to monetise that project earlier. We want to understand exactly what sort of ore the project produces.
Proactive: Finally, you’ve obviously done plenty of work over the last quarter. What can we expect to see over the next few months?
Luke Meter: We’re definitely going to be drilling, as well as doing a lot more mapping and sampling.
We need to understand the full extent of the broader corridor through to Area 42. There is a significant amount of strike to investigate, so we need to get in there and understand what’s going on beyond just the drilling.
Proactive: Plenty to look forward to for investors. Luke, thanks for your time this morning, and we’ll chat again soon.
Luke Meter: Cheers. Thank you very much.