Legend Mining Limited (ASX:LEG) has grown the mineralised intrusive footprint of the flagship Mawson Nickel-Copper-Cobalt Prospect within the Rockford Project on WA’s Fraser Range with new diamond drilling intersecting further mineralised lithologies.
The first diamond holes for 2021 have returned encouraging visual results to the south and southeast of Mawson as well as in the northern portion of Eastern Aircore Geochemical Anomaly (EAGA).
Off hole conductors have been detected in the first two holes and further DHEM work underway.
“Successful start”
Legend managing director Mark Wilson said: “This has been a successful start to our 2021 diamond drill program with step-out holes intersecting mineralisation in the right rocks in all traverses drilled this year which adds to our confidence of a large mineralised system at this prospect.
“Diamond drilling continues, complemented by down hole EM, in our ongoing systematic search for the main mineralised source at Mawson.”
Legend’s market cap is now approximately $344.4 million and shares today are 4% higher to 13 cents.
Testing for extensions
The diamond drilling completed to date was designed to test for southern/south-eastern extensions of the mineralised mafic/ultramafic intrusion of Mawson and northern extensions of the mineralised intrusion of the EAGA.
Diamond drilling of priority target areas at Mawson.
A total of seven diamond drill holes have been completed (RKDD035-RKDD041) and selected samples have been sent for assay, with drilling ongoing.
A thick intrusive suite with mineralised envelopes encountered in this first step-out diamond drilling across Target Area 1 and Target Area 2 adds weight to existing datasets, supporting the suggestion that a large mineralised system is driving Mawson.
3D model very accurate
Encouragingly, the 3D model driving predictive exploration at Mawson is to date very accurate, which bodes well for select targeting to test for the preferred host lithologies and structurally favourable positions to host massive nickel-copper mineralisation across the Mawson intrusion.
Two holes were drilled 250 metres south of the Mawson discovery zone and both intersected the targeted chonolith host of websterite and olivine gabbronorite before entering a fault zone.
Diamond drill hole locations and defined chonolith model projected to surface over aeromagnetics.
After exiting the fault zone, both intersected recrystallised intrusive suites before entering a metasedimentary country rock package interpreted to be a basal contact position.
The intersection of the fertile host lithologies visually interpreted as the host of the Mawson discovery zone is highly encouraging.
Conductors identified
DHTEM has been completed on these holes with end of hole conductors identified in both, however, these conductors are not fully constrained. Both conductors are interpreted to be in close proximity to the D5 stratigraphic conductor.
Another hole in Target Area A intersected a carbonate intrusive contact and this is the first time that this has been identified at Mawson.
This is highly encouraging for Legend as this carbonate-intrusive contact is also seen at the Nova-Bollinger deposit.
Diamond drilling continues
Target Area 2 has also returned encouraging observations with three diamond holes completed and another being drilled.
Ongoing drilling across the three target areas will focus on defining intrusive bodies and target structural trap sites for massive nickel-copper sulphide mineralisation accumulation.
The DHTEM contractor GEM Geophysics has arrived back on site with surveying of holes to begin this week.
Future programs
- Diamond drilling continuing with two diamond rigs at Mawson across priority target areas;
- DHTEM to be undertaken on all completed diamond drill holes; and
- Integration of DD, RC, aircore geochemical and geophysical datasets to evolve 3D emplacement model of Mawson, with new constrained gravity and magnetic inversions ongoing.