St George Mining Ltd (ASX:SGQ) has unlocked further exploration potential at Investigators Prospect within Mt Alexander Project in the north-eastern Goldfields of Western Australia with the identification of a ‘stand-out’ new target with the potential to host massive nickel-copper sulphides.
The company has been pursuing mineralisation at depth after identifying multiple shallow high-grade nickel-copper sulphide zones, based on the assumption that such a long system (over 5 kilometres) is likely present at depth as well as the observed surface deposits.
A large target down-dip of the surface mineralisation has demonstrated a similar geophysical signature, with a down-dip extent of more than 450 metres which SGQ believes represents a priority target for the potential discovery of a large-scale nickel-copper-platinum group elements (PGE) deposit.
“Absolutely compelling target”
St George Mining executive chair John Prineas said: “We are delighted with the results of the first-ever seismic survey at Mt Alexander which has delivered not only a breakthrough in our understanding of the complex intrusive system at Mt Alexander but also an outstanding new target for a potential massive sulphide deposit.
“Our systematic exploration over the past year has been primarily focused on testing the deeper areas at Mt Alexander to build on the four shallow high-grade nickel-copper sulphide discoveries already made across more than a 5.5-kilometre east-west strike length of the Cathedrals Belt.
“The geological thinking is that if the system is that long, it must also be deeper than the shallow mineralisation identified.
“The mineralisation we have at Mt Alexander is unique – the rare combination of high-grade nickel, copper, cobalt and platinum group metals is not seen anywhere else in Australia. Our challenge is to discover a large deposit of this kind of mineralisation.
“Accordingly, we are very excited with the new, large target identified by the seismic data. The new target is located down-dip from the shallow massive sulphides drilled at Investigators and has seismic properties consistent with those shallow massive sulphides.
“This is an absolutely compelling target for a potential major discovery.”
In the company’s words
Proactive’s Andrew Scott spoke to St George Mining's John Prineas to discuss the seismic survey.
Seismic data has been used to map the down-dip continuation of the complex intrusive and fault structures across the survey areas, providing SGQ with valuable data for exploration targeting at deeper levels of the large, high-grade mineral system at Mt Alexander.
Modelling and interpretation of the seismic data is currently ongoing, with several additional targets being assessed for potential exploration campaigns.
A diamond drill has been secured for a 2022 drill program which will focus initially on testing the new high-priority seismic targets. The rig from DDH1 Drilling (ASX:DDH) is scheduled to arrive at Mt Alexander in late January 2022.
About St George Mining
St George Mining flagship Mt Alexander Project is 120 kilometres south-southwest of the Agnew-Wiluna Belt, which hosts numerous world-class nickel deposits.
Mt Alexander Project comprises six granted exploration licences which are a contiguous package. A seventh granted exploration licence is located to the southeast of the core tenement package.