Chalice Mining Ltd (ASX:CHN, OTCQB:CGMLF) continues to hit the ground running at its flagship Julimar asset’s Gonneville Deposit, where extensional drilling has encountered more high-grade sulphide hits.
The latest intersections sit up to 400 metres beyond the limit of the current Gonneville resource pit shell, meaning there’s scope to broaden the target’s mineralised footprint.
Gonneville is prospective for nickel, copper and platinum group elements (PGEs) and Chalice is exploring its polymetallic potential with a bevy of drill campaigns, involving five rigs.
Step-out drilling aims to extend the high-grade in-pit resource, while an infill campaign (nearing completion) is out to upgrade the ore to a higher-confidence category.
In the meantime, regional drilling activity is pinpointing more territory for Chalice to explore along the 26-kilometre Julimar Complex.
As work ramps up across the property, the polymetallic explorer is determined to prove up what is already the largest platinum group element discovery in Australian history and the biggest nickel sulphide find in more than two decades.
“Outstanding growth potential”
Speaking to progress at Julimar, Chalice managing director and CEO Alex Dorsch said: “Recent step-out drilling at Gonneville has again highlighted the outstanding growth potential of the tier-one scale resource and the opportunity for significant growth of the deposit to support future underground mining.
“The Gonneville Intrusion is roughly 500 metres thick and wide open to the northwest and we continue to see pockets of very high-grade sulphide mineralisation as we target extensions well beyond the current resource boundaries, so, step-out drilling will continue for the foreseeable future to assess the overall extent of the mineral system.
“The polymetallic PGE-nickel-copper-cobalt resource defined at Julimar is already very significant on a global scale, however, recent troubling developments in Ukraine have highlighted the strategic importance of this critical minerals deposit and the new West Yilgarn mineral province to support the decarbonisation of the global economy and to de-risk critical supply chains.”
Altogether, 776 diamond and reverse circulation (RC) drill holes, covering roughly 200,000 metres, as well as 219 aircore drill holes, have been completed at Julimar to date.
Step-out campaign
Some of the best new, high-grade sulphide hits at Gonneville include:
- 16 metres at 2.9 g/t palladium, 0.6 g/t platinum, 0.4 g/t gold, 0.1% nickel, 0.1% copper and 0.01% cobalt (1.5% nickel equivalent) from 448 metres;
- 14.8 metres at 3.0 g/t palladium, 0.5 g/t platinum, 0.1 g/t gold, 0.2% nickel, 0.1% copper and 0.01% cobalt (1.5% nickel equivalent) from 545 metres;
- 3.7 metres at 7.3 g/t palladium, 1.2 g/t platinum, 0.7 g/t gold, 0.6% nickel, 1.0% copper, 0.04% cobalt (4.5% nickel equivalent) from 429.3 metres;
- 13 metres at 1.7 g/t palladium, 0.4 g/t platinum, 0.1 g/t gold, 0.2% nickel, 0.1% copper and 0.01% cobalt (1.0% nickel equivalent) from 412 metres;
- 14 metres at 1.5 g/t palladium, 0.5 g/t platinum, 0.2 g/t gold, 0.1% nickel, 0.1% copper and 0.01% cobalt (0.9% nickel equivalent) from 523 metres;
- 15 metres at 1.1 g/t palladium, 0.4 g/t platinum, 0.1 g/t gold, 0.2% nickel, 0.1% copper and 0.01% cobalt (0.8% nickel equivalent) from 277 metres;
- 5 metres at 1.4 g/t palladium, 0.4 g/t platinum, 0.2 g/t gold, 0.1% nickel, 0.4% copper and 0.01% cobalt (1.1% nickel equivalent) from 424 metres; and
- 3 metres at 1.2 g/t palladium, 0.7 g/t platinum, 0.1 g/t gold, 0.2% nickel, 0.8% copper and 0.02% cobalt (1.4% nickel equivalent) from 400 metres.
What’s more, Gonneville’s high-grade G2 zone has been extended roughly 170 metres beyond the resource pit shell, based on an approximate 11-metre-wide visual interval of heavily disseminated to massive sulphides that were intersected from 679.1 metres downhole.
Wide-spaced step-out drilling is continuing at Gonneville, focused on extending the high-grade in-pit resource.
This currently stands at 74 million tonnes at 1.8 g/t palladium, platinum and gold, 0.22% nickel, 0.21% copper and 0.021% cobalt (roughly 1.0% nickel equivalent).
Turning the soil at Hartog
Two diamond rigs are progressing the first-ever, low-impact exploration drill program at the Hartog target area, immediately north of Gonneville.
Four holes have been completed to date at Hartog, with all assays pending. A total of 70 drill sites are planned to be tested across the Hartog-Dampier area with drilling expected to continue and accelerate over the coming months as the geological model continues to be refined and permits are obtained for off-track drilling locations.
Dorsch continued: “The first-ever exploration drilling program at Hartog is underway over what is a very large area, with dozens of MLEM and soil targets.
“We have already intersected intrusive geology – which is a good start – however, we remain focused on gaining access to the highest-priority areas over the coming weeks.
“The previous narrow high-grade intersections north-west of Gonneville make the southern end of the Hartog target a very exciting area for expansion of the Gonneville resource."
Regional exploration across the greater Julimar Complex continues to ramp up, with the latest results confirming multiple areas highly prospective for ortho-magmatic nickel-copper-PGE sulphides.
In addition, airborne electromagnetics has identified a new high-priority airborne electromagnetic anomaly at the Flinders target, roughly 25 kilometres northeast of Gonneville.
“We are also continuing to unlock the broader potential of the Julimar Complex with a multi-pronged exploration effort that includes reconnaissance aircore drilling as well as ground and airborne electromagnetics,” Dorsch said.
“This work has already yielded an exciting new target located some 25 kilometres northeast of Gonneville that is now elevated to top priority within the portfolio.”