Venture Minerals Ltd (ASX:VMS, OTC:VTMLF)’s joint venture partner, Chalice Mining Ltd (ASX:CHN, OTCQB:CGMLF), has kicked off its maiden drilling program over the 20-kilometre Thor magnetic trend within Venture’s South West Project in WA.
The drill program will initially hone in on some high-priority electromagnetic anomalies, which were uncovered in Chalice’s recent survey program.
Chalice’s exploration team has also started an extensive auger surface geochemistry program to define other potential base metals (nickel, copper, cobalt, zinc and lead occurrences) and/or precious metals (palladium, platinum and gold) anomalies along the Thor magnetic trend.
The bigger picture
This activity, along with the maiden drilling campaign, will go towards fulfilling Chalice’s earn-in requirements at South West.
The ASX 200-lister needs to spend A$1.2 million on exploration to earn 51% of the project, as well as a further A$2.5 million to earn 70% of Venture’s South West asset.
Should Chalice spend A$3.7 million on exploration by July 29, 2024, and earn its 70% stake, then Venture will have the option to maintain its 30% equity in the project.
Looking for more targets
Venture's managing director Andrew Radonjic said: “The company is looking forward to seeing the drill core from its joint venture partner Chalice Mining’s maiden drilling program at Thor as it targets high priority electromagnetic anomalies that potentially represent massive sulphide bodies.
“Venture is also encouraged by Chalice’s commitment to the South West Project with not only drilling the current priority bedrock conductors, but also to generating other potential drill targets for later testing through an extensive auger geochemistry program along the prospective, 20-kilometre Thor magnetic trend.”
Watch: Venture Minerals turns the soil at Thor with JV partner Chalice Mining
About South West
The South West Project covers 256 square kilometres and is roughly 240 kilometres south of Perth hosted in the Balingup Metamorphic Belt, within the highly prospective West Yilgarn nickel-copper-platinum group element (PGE) province.
This region was discovered by Chalice and hosts its Julimar discovery, which is one of the largest greenfield nickel-copper-PGE sulphide discoveries in recent history.
The two main prospects within the project are Thor and Odin, and both contain areas of potential nickel-copper-PGE prospectivity.
Thor is associated with chromium-rich rocks, which are indicative of mafic-ultramafic intrusions. An airborne electromagnetic survey undertaken by Venture identified 13 highly conductive anomalies within the southern 6.5 kilometres of the regional magnetic feature.
Of this, only two have been tested by single holes in Venture’s 2018 maiden drill program, with the last drill hole intersecting 2.4 metres of massive sulphide averaging 0.5% copper, 0.05% nickel, 0.04% cobalt and anomalous gold & palladium.
At Odin, in the only hole drilled, nickel and copper sulphides were intersected within a highly prospective mafic-ultramafic unit that extends for more than 10 strike kilometres.
Venture's shares are 10.87% higher at A$0.051 and have risen from A$0.037 at market close on March 15 while Chalice's securities have been as much as 3.17% higher to A$7.18.