Caspin Resources Ltd (ASX:CPN) has restarted field activities at the Yarawindah Brook Nickel-Copper-PGE (platinum group element) Project in Western Australia.
The company has started reverse circulation (RC) and diamond drilling on site to test several targets across 7,000 metres and plans to extend the campaign if early results warrant further drilling.
Drilling at XC-22 prospect
Caspin was in receipt of some promising drill results in early February at the first hole at the XC-22 prospect and plans to investigate further.
The 68-metre mineralised interval included a semi-massive sulphide zone from 46 metres, returning assay results of 2 metres at 1.42% nickel, 0.47% copper and 0.33 g/t 3E (palladium, platinum and gold), hosted within a mafic pyroxenite-gabbro rock.
This is a significant result at this shallow depth and appears to be consistent with the XC22 airborne electromagnetic (AEM) anomaly.
There is also a zone of significant low-sulphide, PGE-rich mineralisation, grading 13 metres at 0.97g/t 3E, 0.26% nickel and 0.21% copper from 101 metres.
With mineralisation open in all directions, the company now plans to focus its diamond drilling activities on the potential for both nickel-copper massive sulphide and low-sulphide platinum group-rich mineralisation.
Northwest geochemical anomaly
The Northwest anomaly lies to the west of the Radio Tower Fault and occurs in an unusual embayment in the intrusion. This position and geometry are distinctly different from the Central Yarabrook Hill areas that have been previously drilled and possibly represents geological complexity or a previously unrecognised part of the basal sequence.
Peak PGE values in the Northwest anomaly are 33 parts per billion (ppb) palladium and 112 ppb platinum.
There has been no drilling into this part of the intrusion by Caspin or its predecessors and because of its unique geological setting the area is an immediate target for drill testing.
The reverse circulation (RC) rig will drill this area first before moving to the XC-22 prospect.
Brassica trend
While the company is focused on the recent results at XC-22 and Central Yarabrook Hill, other early-stage opportunities present themselves at the Yarawindah Brook Project.
The Brassica trend is comprised of multiple magnetic, electromagnetic, rock and soil anomalies over a strike of approximately 17 kilometres.
The company has previously discovered prospective geology on the Brassica trend, a belt of mafic and ultramafic rocks that appears to be a separate intrusive system to Yarabrook Hill.
Caspin drilled an electromagnetic anomaly on the Brassica trend at XC-29 in April 2021, intersecting anomalous nickel-copper sulphides, demonstrating the potential for orthomagmatic mineralisation.
Promising historical results
Past drilling at the Brassica prospect in 2019, targeting an electromagnetic conductor, returned anomalous nickel-copper mineralisation associated with iron-rich sulphides in mafic rocks. A nearby strong magnetic anomaly was not drilled at the time because of the focus on EM conductors but is now recognised as an attractive exploration target.
Rock chip samples from past explorers in this area have returned anomalous values of nickel – up to 2,934 ppb, copper (727 ppb), platinum (14 ppb) and palladium (27 ppb). The company intends to drill a small number of reconnaissance-style holes into the magnetic feature to determine the potential for orthomagmatic sulphide mineralisation.
Exploration along the trend is in its infancy, but Caspin is encouraged by results to date and will continue to develop new regional targets to be tested.