Venture Minerals Limited (ASX:VMS, OTC:VTMLF) joint venture partner Chalice Mining Ltd has completed the first stage of exploration at the South West Nickel-Copper-PGE Project in Western Australia.
This JV project is around 240 kilometres south of Perth in the Balingup Metamorphic Belt, within the highly prospective West Yilgarn Nickel-Copper-PGE Province discovered by Chalice.
The two main prospects at the project are Thor and Odin, both of which are promising areas of nickel, copper and platinum group elements (PGE) prospectivity.
Lucrative venture
As agreed under the terms of the joint venture, Chalice has spent the minimum A$300,000 on exploration by November 30, 2021 and stands to reach up to 70% interest by spending $3.7 million on exploration at the project over four years.
Exploration activity during this first phase saw Chalice complete a ground electro-magnetic (EM) program at Venture’s South West Project.
Sizing up Thor
Chalice’s geophysical survey focused on the highly prospective Thor target, a 20-kilometre-long magnetic anomaly Chalice refers to as the 'Julimar lookalike'. The area features chromium-rich rocks which usually flag a mafic-ultramafic intrusive complex.
The 'Julimar lookalike' at the Thor Prospect.
Chalice is conducting the EM program across an area where Venture’s previous airborne EM survey delineated 13 highly conductive anomalies within the southern 6.5 kilometres of the magnetic anomaly.
The companies will provide updates on the results of this work once Chalice’s exploration team receives final data and completes its interpretation of any resultant bedrock conductors early next year.
Chalice will follow-up any resultant bedrock conductors from the EM program with soil geochemistry to define potential drill-ready targets. It has already defined new EM anomalies of similar strength conductors to those that yielded wide and significant palladium intervals during the early drilling phase of the Julimar Nickel-Copper-PGE discovery.
One of the new EM anomalies is within 10 metres of a previously drilled hole, TOR04, which intersected 86 metres of disseminated sulphides with anomalous levels of platinum-group mineralisation.
Odin looks strong
At the other prospect, Odin, nickel and copper sulphides were intersected within a highly prospective mafic-ultramafic area that extends over 10 strike kilometres. Surface sampling returning significant nickel and copper geochemical anomalies.
What’s next?
The next stage of the joint venture will be satisfied if Chalice elects to drill the targets.
It will then need to spend $1.2 million by July 29, 2022, inclusive of the A$300,000 already spent, to earn 51% and a further $2.5 million to earn 70% in Venture’s South West Nickel-Copper-PGE Project.