The Conversation (0)
Five high-priority targets for nickel-copper-platinum group metals (including gold) (PGM) mineralisation have been identified in new soil geochemistry results from Impact Minerals Limited’s (ASX:IPT) 100% owned Arkun project within the emerging mineral province of southwest Western Australia (Figure 1). These anomalies are in addition to the significant Rare Earth Element (REE) soil geochemistry anomalies recently identified at the project (ASX Release June 1st 2023).
Highlights:
- Five large nickel-copper-platinum group-metal (Ni-Cu-PGM) soil geochemistry anomalies, each covering several square kilometres, have been identified within the northern portion of the Arkun project.
- The soil anomalies coincide with magnetic and/or gravity geophysical anomalies that may represent mafic and ultramafic intrusions.
- Field checking confirms intrusive mafic and ultramafic rocks occur within some anomalies and are priority targets for magmatic Ni-Cu-PGM mineralisation.
- A further 1,000 soil samples have been recently collected and submitted to the laboratory, with results due in Q4 2023.
The nickel-copper-PGM anomalies are up to 4 kilometres long and 2 kilometres wide and are coincident with either gravity highs or magnetic lows, which together may represent mafic and ultramafic intrusions that are potential hosts for nickel-copper-PGM sulphide mineralisation.
Notably, the anomalies include strong responses for nickel, copper, palladium, platinum and gold, suggesting that they may be associated with sulphide mineralisation rather than simply arising from elevated backgrounds of nickel and copper in mafic and ultramafic rocks.
These new results, which cover only a small part of the Arkun project, clearly demonstrate the significant prospectivity of the Arkun project area for a wide range of battery metals.
Impact Minerals’ Managing Director, Dr Mike Jones, said, “Our Arkun project continues to be significantly bolstered by our ongoing soil geochemistry work. In addition to the recent discovery of the large Horseshoe REE prospect, we have now generated five significant areas to follow up for nickel-copper-PGM mineralisation. All of these targets were generated from our initial roadside geochemical traverses, and we are having a high success rate in generating significant-sized areas for follow-up work and with a further 1,000 soil samples in the laboratory, I am confident we will have more anomalies to come. The Arkun area is poorly explored, a fact recently emphasised by the $20 million dollar joint venture between Chalice Mining Limited and private company Northam Resources Limited on the ground immediately next door to Arkun. This region of Western Australia is continuing to emerge as a significant new mineral province.”
Figure 1. Location and Regional Geology of the Arkun Project with three world-class deposits: Julimar (nickel-copper- PGE), Boddington (gold) and Greenbushes (Li-Ta). Note the extensive tenement holdings of Anglo American Corporation, which surrounds Arkun on three sides, and who applied for the gro
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