Venture Minerals Ltd (ASX:VMS, OTC:VTMLF) welcomes the news that its joint venture partner Chalice Mining Ltd (ASX:CHN, OTCQB:CGMLF) has received results from a recently completed auger soil geochemistry program at the South West Project, identifying two new target areas in the process.
In doing so, Chalice has met the requirement that it spend $1.2 million in the earn-in deal for a 51% share in the WA-based project.
Sulphide potential supported by underlying geology
The targets at the Thor prospect have magmatic nickel-copper-platinum group element (PGE) sulphide potential supported by underlying geology that is consistent with the presence of ultramafic rocks.
And there are more areas running parallel to the 20-kilometre-long Thor magnetic anomaly that remain unexplored and warrant exploration follow-up.
These new targets were not part of Chalice’s ground EM program completed last year and the auger geochemical results for these new targets have stronger coincidental magmatic indicator metals, including nickel, copper, cobalt, palladium, platinum and gold, than the area covered by the recent ground EM.
Earn-in fulfilled
The auger soil geochemistry program, in combination with a recently completed maiden drilling program at Thor, have met Chalice’s expenditure requirement of investing $1.2 million to earn 51%.
Venture’s partner would now need to spend, at its election, a further $2.5 million by July 29, 2024, to earn 70% in Venture’s South West Project.
The next stage for the project will include following up the auger soil geochemistry program results with ground EM and infill geochemical sampling, to prepare the generated targets for potential drill testing.
About the South West Project
The 256-square-kilometre South West Project is roughly 240 kilometres south of Perth and is hosted in the Balingup Metamorphic Belt, within the highly prospective West Yilgarn nickel-copper-PGE Province discovered by Chalice, which hosts its Julimar discovery, one of the largest greenfield nickel-copper-PGE sulphide discoveries in recent history.
The two main prospects within the project are Thor and Odin, both of which contain areas of potential nickel-copper-PGE prospectivity.
An airborne EM survey by Venture identified 13 highly conductive anomalies within the southern 6.5 kilometres of the regional magnetic feature.
Only two of the anomalies were tested by single holes in Venture’s 2018 maiden drill program, the last of which intersected 2.4 metres of massive sulphide averaging 0.5% copper, 0.05% nickel, 0.04% cobalt and anomalous gold and palladium.
At Odin, in the only hole drilled, nickel and copper sulphides were intersected within a highly prospective mafic-ultramafic unit that extends over 10 strike kilometres.
This was further supported by surface sampling returning significant nickel and copper geochemical anomalies.