Cassini Resources (ASX:CZI) has validated its high grade nickel copper exploration strategy for the Nebo-Babel project in Western Australia, recently acquired from BHP.
The Nebo-Babel mineralised system is the largest nickel sulphide discovery since the discovery of Voisey’s Bay in Canada in 1993, and has a mineralisation inventory of 446Mt at 0.33% nickel and 0.35% copper for a total of
1.47Mt of contained nickel and 1.56Mt of contained copper.
Cassini’s strategy is to focus on the known, but poorly defined higher-grade component of the mineralisation at Nebo-Babel.
The key to the validity of this strategy is confirming the continuity of the higher-grade zones.
An initial review of the technical database has provided strong support for Cassini’s view that the higher-grade zones form a coherent body and importantly, that the higher-grade portion of the resource is generally present closer to the surface than the rest of the ore body.
BHP's resource model for Nebo-Babel was focused on the large, low-grade disseminated resource and based on a 0.2% nickel cut off.
Consequently, the higher-grade zones in the resource were not the focus of previous drilling and are poorly defined due to the broad spacing between drill holes.
By way of comparison, the entire 446 million tonne Nebo-Babel resource is defined by only 185 drill holes, whereas Sirius’ Resources' (ASX:SIR) Nova-Bollinger deposits are currently defined by 242 holes, for a total resource of 14.9 Mt at 2.2% nickel and 0.9% copper.
Cassini has revaluated the existing resource model at a higher block model cut-off grade of 0.5% nickel.
At this higher-grade cut-off, the inferred resource at Nebo-Babel is 33Mt at 0.73% nickel and 0.59% copper, for a total of 241,000 tonnes of contained nickel and 195,000 tonnes of contained copper.
Cassini’s preliminary review of the existing drill hole database has also identified a number of positions where the high-grade mineralised zone appears to be open.
These opportunities to extend the existing resource will be tested during the imminent in-fill drilling program.
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