District-Scale Nickel Potential At Pulju Confirmed By Regional Magnetic Survey

Nickel sulphide explorer Nordic Nickel Limited (ASX: NNL; Nordic, or the Company) is pleased to advise that an extensive UAV (drone-supported) magnetic geophysical survey has reinforced the enormous, district-scale nickel sulphide potential of its flagship Pulju Nickel Project (the Project) in the Central Lapland Greenstone Belt (CLGB) of northern Finland.

HIGHLIGHTS

• High-resolution drone magnetic geophysical survey completed over 269km2.
• Multiple magnetic anomalies interpreted to be sourced from ultramafic intrusions of similar or larger size to that at the existing Hotinvaara JORC (2012) Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) at Pulju.
• Several anomalies identified are associated with confirmed nickel mineralisation from historical shallow drilling.
• Two large prospects identified in close proximity (<2km) to the existing Hotinvaara JORC (2012) MRE.
• Multiple additional walk-up drill targets identified from the survey to be tested in coming drill seasons.
• Thirteen (13) diamond drillholes now completed for a total of 9,512m (average completed hole depth 732m). Assays for the first hole expected in by mid-May.

The project-wide UAV magnetic survey, which covers an area of 269km2, has vastly improved on previous regional magnetic surveys providing clearer, higher resolution anomaly definition. Several new outstanding magnetic anomalies have been identified across the 240km2 project area, with two large-scale anomalies of greater than 2km in strike length identified in close proximity to the existing Hotinvaara JORC (2012) Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE)1. In addition, when comparing these magnetic anomalies to historical drilling in the wider district, it is clear that a number of these prospects have already been confirmed to host shallow, disseminated nickel sulphides, similar in nature to that found at Hotinvaara2.

The Company’s drilling program at Hotinvaara is continuing with thirteen (13) diamond drillholes now completed for 9,512m in total.

The magnetic survey has reinforced the district-scale potential and metal endowment of the Project, with the potential to host both extensive near-surface disseminated nickel sulphide mineralisation such as that already delineated at the Hotinvaara Prospect, as well as massive nickel-copper sulphide mineralisation of a similar style to the nearby world-class Sakatti Deposit.

Management Comment

Nordic Nickel Managing Director, Todd Ross, said: “We are extremely excited by the results of the magnetic survey and the multiple occurrences of Hotinvaara Prospect-style anomalies across our Pulju Project. This new regional dataset will assist us for many years to come in better understanding the geology of the Pulju Greenstone Belt and drill target definition. With our knowledge of the Pulju mineral system and interpreting geophysical responses, we’re able to focus in on prospective areas to target for near-surface nickel mineralisation and potential additions to the existing Mineral Resource. With so many new prospective areas to test, we are now in the process of prioritising prospect zones and look forward to drill testing these magnetic anomalies in the near future and expanding the mineralisation footprint beyond Hotinvaara.”

Magnetic survey

The UAV magnetic survey covered an area of 269km2 and consisted of 846 individual lines at 40m line spacing for a total of 7,430 line-kilometres. Full details of the survey are provided in Appendix 1. JORC Code (2012) – Table 1.

In conjunction with GTK (Geological Survey of Finland) regional solid geology mapping, specifically the presence of the Ni-Cu-Co prospective Mertavaara Formation, multiple magnetic anomalies are evident in the survey that are coincident with mapped occurrences of Mertavaara Formation (Figure 1; Table 1). This interpretation is based on the observation that the mineral magnetite forms in serpentinised (hydrothermally and metamorphically altered) ultramafic rocks within the Mertavaara Formation, which causes the positive magnetic anomalies. Drilling elsewhere in the CLGB as well as Nordic’s own drilling at Hotinvaara has confirmed this relationship, making magnetic geophysical surveys an important first-order tool in nickel exploration in the CLGB.

On the basis of the size and number of magnetic anomalies, the potential for substantial tonnages of ultramafic rock is evident across the project.

Importantly, the magnetic anomalies immediately adjacent to the Hotinvaara MRE bodes particularly well for the current drilling program that is targeting extensions to the MRE. The P3 anomaly, which is along strike from the northeast portion of the MRE, displays magnetic features indicative of buried ultramafic intrusives (Figure 2). Although no drilling has occurred in this area, nor prospective Mertavaara Formation mapped by GTK, the Company is optimistic that the prospective lithologies sub-crop in this area and are hidden by glacial till. Should the Company’s drilling prove this theory to be correct, this potentially adds an additional 1,700m of strike length to the mineral system in this area. Furthermore, an additional 2,600m in strike length of prospective rocks potentially exists to the east of the Hotinvaara MRE at the P5 anomaly where no drilling has previously occurred (Figure 2).

Click here for the full ASX Release

This article includes content from Nordic Nickel Limited, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.