White Cliff Minerals Ltd (ASX:WCN) has added a good grade nickel find to its promising Aucu gold discovery in the Kyrgyz Republic and gold nuggets found recently at the 100% owned Merolia Nickel and Gold project in Western Australia.
Drilling at the Coglia prospect recorded an intersection of 4 metres at 3% nickel within 12 metres at 2.2% nickel from 80 metres depth.
Which may have a come as a surprise as managing director, Todd Hibberd, commented: “The 2% and 3% nickel intervals were very surprising given that the holes either side only contained 1% nickel.
"While it is impossible to determine the original source of the nickel (i.e. sulphide or silicate) in the regolith, the underlying platinum and palladium values are diagnostic of a sulphide phase in the ultramafic unit.
"This means there is the possibility of a nickel sulphide accumulation somewhere in the Coglia ultramafic unit and that makes these results very exciting.”
Interestingly, high platinum and palladium levels that were recorded in fresh ultramafic provide evidence that the Coglia ultramafic is prospective for nickel sulphide mineralisation.
These results included: 30 metres at 240ppb platinum and palladium (Pt+Pd) from 224 metres, 16 metres at 87 ppb Pt+Pd from 184 metres and 12 metres at 150 ppb Pt+Pd from 144 metres.
Coglia drill results
MERC004 was drilled to 250 metres depth and tested a strong nickel-copper-platinum-palladium geochemical anomaly within the Coglia ultramafic intrusion.
The drilling encountered a strongly enriched ultramafic regolith profile containing 12 metres at 2.18% nickel including 4 metres at 3% nickel, as well as substantial zones of anomalous platinum and palladium considered diagnostic of the presence of a sulphide phase.
A second drill hole MERC005, was drilled at the southern end of the Coglia ultramafic unit and targeted the hanging wall contact where an electromagnetic fixed loop geophysical survey identified a strong conductor.
The drilling also intersected extensive sequences of fertile ultramafic rocks including zones with high background platinum and palladium, which White Cliff believes to be exceptionally prospective for nickel sulphide accumulations.
The Coglia ultramafic is 7 kilometres long and 1500 metres wide and consists of fractionated series of ultramafic intrusive units.
There are potentially several prospective horizons and further petrological and compositional studies are required to determine the best exploration approach.
The company will engage specialist consultants to assist with this work.
While at McKenna ultramafic sequences were intersected with background nickel contents of 0.15% nickel but will not be followed up with drilling.
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