Pantoro Ltd (ASX:PNR) has highlighted the exploration upside of its Halls Creek project in Western Australia with ‘strong’ platinum group elements (PGE) assays as well as nickel and cobalt received from exploration drilling three kilometres north of existing results on the Lamboo ultramafic basal contact.
The company believes these new results confirm a strong correlation between PGE and nickel and cobalt mineralisation, which has been previously noted in earlier drill holes.
An assay of note includes 30 metres at 1.03 g/t platinum, palladium and gold (3E) from 3 metres, including 0.54% nickel and 0.033% cobalt.
Samples for all drilled holes have now been submitted for nickel and cobalt assays with results pending.
Widespread PGE
“This result confirms that PGE mineralisation along with coincident nickel and cobalt is widespread throughout the basal contact of the Lamboo Ultramafic System,” Pantoro managing director Paul Cmrlec said.
“We eagerly await additional results from the December 2021 drilling campaign. Field mapping and sampling in the ensuing period will ensure that drill targeting is as efficient as possible in the 2022 drill season where Pantoro intends to cover the majority of the system with first-pass drilling.”
Drilling undertaken prior to the end of December was productive for Pantoro, completing a further 2,659 metres of exploration with results still pending.
Pantoro is confident assay results received from recent drilling demonstrate the potential for PGE mineralisation over the entire 20-kilometre-plus basal contact target.
Further work
Assays for nickel, cobalt and the other PGEs (osmium, rhodium, ruthenium and iridium) from the recent drilling are being completed.
Pantoro plans to undertake on-ground contact mapping and sampling over the wet season in preparation for a large step-out drill program designed to test an additional 10 kilometres of strike immediately after the end of the wet season in early 2022.
The company expects to undertake approximately 20,000 metres of drilling after the wet season subsides.
Shares are 2.9% higher at A$0.355 while the company's market cap is approximately A$486.28 million.
About Pantoro
Pantoro is an Australian gold producer with a 100% interest in the Halls Creek Gold Project in the Kimberley Region of Western Australia and 50% in the Norseman Gold Project in the Goldfields.
The Halls Creek Project, which includes the Nicolsons and Wagtail Mines and a pipeline of exploration and development prospects, has a mineral resource of 393,000 ounces of gold.
The Norseman Gold Project represents a transformational opportunity through the current resource of 4.2 million ounces with strong potential for increases foreshadowed by exploration success.