Ardea Resources Limited (Ardea or the Company) confirms a massive nickel sulphide discovery at its Kalpini Project, 70km northeast of Kalgoorlie, Diamond drill hole AELD0003 intersects massive nickel sulphide mineralisation on an intact basal contact in the West Channel
The nickel sulphide is on the same komatiite basal flow contact intersected in adjoining diamond drill hole AELD0002 (4.8m of mineralisation, up to 4.78% nickel from 365.9m depth) (ASX release 10 June 2021)
With two intersections of massive nickel sulphide now established on the same basal komatiite horizon, Ardea confirms a discovery
Identification of pentlandite (nickel sulphide) and chalcopyrite (copper sulphide) confirmed by handheld XRF
Down Hole Electro-Magnetic (DHEM) contractor has commenced work aimed at extending the target zone for follow-up drilling
Ardea's Managing Director, Andrew Penkethman, said: 'The focus of historic Emu Lake exploration has been the Binti Gossan prospect area, 1km north of Ardea's West Channel discovery. West Channel is on a separate ultramafic flow that pinches out before reaching surface, so the massive sulphide has no surface gossan expression and has therefore been missed by past explorers. The geometry of the AELD0003 discovery will be better understood once the DHEM survey is completed, and multi-element assays received. The discovery of massive nickel sulphide on an intact basal contact in two adjoining drill holes has opened up a new search space and is a major exploration breakthrough for the Company. With Ardea holding 20km of fertile komatiite strike at Emu Lake, there is significant scope to extend this discovery and make additional nickel sulphide discoveries.'
Kalpini Project - Emu Lake Prospect
Ardea's Kalpini Project covers over 121km2, with the leading nickel sulphide target, Emu Lake, located 70km northeast of Kalgoorlie. This strategic tenement package contains 20km strike of prospective ultramafic stratigraphy held 100% by Ardea and mostly within granted mining leases. The project is 35km east of the Black Swan Nickel Project (Silver Swan mine), operated by Poseidon Nickel Ltd, within a parallel komatiite volcanic belt. The exploration model being applied by Ardea is similar to that modelled at the Silver Swan nickel sulphide mine. Silver Swan has a strike length near surface of less than 50m, but a plunge extent over 1,000m and features very high-grade zones of massive nickel sulphide.
Defining the target that confirmed the Emu Lake West Channel nickel sulphide discovery
AELD0001 was drilled to follow-up on an historic DHEM plate that had not been previously drilled tested. This hole intersected a narrow zone of remobilised nickel sulphide (ASX release 2 March 2021). A DHEM survey completed in this AELD0001 defined an off-hole conductor for drill testing.
This intersection confirms the prospectivity of the West Channel position that has received little attention in the past with most historic drilling concentrated on the Binti Gossan Main Zone 1km to the north. Although nickel sulphide has previously been intersected below the outcropping Binti Gossan, it consists of mainly remobilised stringer sulphides. To follow-up on the nickel sulphide results in AELD002, a DHEM survey was completed which defined a strong offhole conductor directly south and below the AELD002 nickel sulphide intercept, providing a target for future drilling.
The massive and semi-massive sulphides are of similar high grades (based on handheld XRF Niton results) to other previously reported intercepts in the Emu Lake area, with laboratory assays required to quantify the results, which will be reported once available. Following on from the above zone of massive nickel sulphide, there is a 0.52m zone of barren intermediate volcaniclastic, followed by a further 37m of disseminated 1% to 2%, sulphide to a depth of 431.90m, within an ultramafic unit. Assay results are required to determine the nickel sulphide prospectivity of this wide low grade zone. The host volcanic sequence is interpreted to be over-turned, hence the massive sulphide being intersected before the disseminated sulphides.
Significant project upside
The DHEM conductor from AELD0002 was stronger than that seen in AELD0001 and in light of the increased quantity of massive nickel sulphide observed in AELD0003, when compared to AELD002, indicates that the extent of nickel mineralisation is increasing. A recently completed RC drill hole, AELR0002, was drilled up plunge of AELD0002. This hole did not intersect the target komatiite lava channel and indicates that this zone has pinched out closer to surface. This realisation helps explain why past explorers have missed the massive nickel sulphides discovered by Ardea in core holes AELD0002 and AELD0003.
The mineralised zone defined in Ardea drill holes AELD0002 and AELD0003 is open down-plunge. With Ardea controlling 20km of strike of this essentially unexplored komatiite channel system, there is significant scope to make additional discoveries.
Drill core logging of AELD0003 is being finalised. The core will be sampled and dispatched to an independent assay laboratory in the coming days. Assay results will be reported once available (expected in Q1, 2022). Results of the in-progress DHEM surveys on drill holes AELR0002 and AELD0003 will be reported once they have been received and interpreted (expected during December 2021). Once the above information is available, follow-up exploration will be planned to expand the known extent of this exciting nickel sulphide discovery
Contact:
Andrew Penkethman
Tel: +61 8 6244 5136
About Ardea Resources
Ardea Resources (ASX:ARL) is an ASX-listed resources company, with a large portfolio of 100%-controlled West Australian-based projects, focussed on: Development of the Kalgoorlie Nickel Project (KNP) and its sub-set the Goongarrie Hub, a globally significant series of nickel-cobalt and Critical Mineral deposits which host the largest nickel-cobalt resource in the developed world at 830Mt at 0.71% nickel and 0.046% cobalt for 5.9Mt of contained nickel and 380kt of contained cobalt (ARL ASX announcements 15 February, 16 June 2021) located in a jurisdiction with exemplary ESG credentials.
Advanced-stage exploration at compelling nickel sulphide targets, such as Emu Lake and Critical Minerals targets within the KNP Eastern Goldfields world-class nickel-gold province, with all exploration targets complementing the KNP nickel development strategy.
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