Nepean Nickel Project – Exploration Update

Auroch Minerals Limited (ASX:AOU) (Auroch or the Company) is pleased to announce that assay results have been received for exploration and resource drilling at the Nepean Nickel Project (Nepean; Auroch Minerals 80%; Lodestar Minerals 20%) in Western Australia.

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Highlights

• Assays received for Nepean RC drill programme comprising four holes for 695m
• Programme comprised two infill holes at the shallow Nepean nickel sulphide resource and two exploration holes at the Nepean North IP target
• Significant results from shallow resource drilling included:
  • 1m @ 2.08% Ni, 0.25% Cu & 0.83g/t PGE from 47m (NPRC083)
• Resource drill-hole results will be used to potentially increase the proportion of Indicated Resources of the shallow (above 290mRL) Nepean Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) of 236kt @ 1.5% Ni and 0.11% Cu for 3,625t Ni & 252t of Cu¹

A four-hole reverse-circulation (RC) drill programme totalling 695m was conducted over both the shallow Nepean nickel MRE and the Nepean North IP target. Two drill-holes targeted the northern portion of the shallow (top ~120m from surface) MRE at Nepean, with the aim to potentially upgrade a significant portion of the current Nepean Resource from an Inferred category to an Indicated category. Significant results from these two holes are listed below:

• 1m @ 2.08% Ni, 0.25% Cu & 0.83g/t PGE’s (Pt & Pd) from 47m down-hole (NPRC083), and
  
• 1m @ 1.18% Ni, 0.11% Cu & 0.49g/t PGE’s from 29m within a wider mineralised zone of
  4m @ 0.84% Ni, 0.05% Cu from 28m (NPRC083); and
• 1m @ 0.72% Ni, 0.07% Cu & 0.15g/t PGE’s from 52m (NPRC082).

Importantly, these results correlate closely with the results from nearby historic drill-holes used in the current MRE of 236kt @ 1.5% Ni and 0.11% Cu for 3,625t of contained nickel and 252t of contained copper.¹ The data from both the new drill-holes and the historical drill-holes will be used to update the shallow Nepean MRE, with the aim to materially increase the proportion of Indicated Resources, which is currently approximately Inferred (50%): Indicated (50%). If as expected, the upgrade in resource category will provide higher confidence in the ongoing internal scoping studies into the viability of a shallow mining operation at Nepean.

At the Nepean North prospect, two deep RC holes targeted a chargeability anomaly identified during a ground IP survey over the northern strike of the Nepean ultramafics. The chargeability anomaly was positioned on the prospective contact of the komatiitic ultramafic and the footwall basalt unit and was within proximity to an exploration hole approximately 700m to the south which intercepted fertile magnesium rich (>40% MgO) ultramafics.

The geophysical target was considered a high priority nickel sulphide target and two holes were planned to drill to ~300m and intercept the modelled chargeability anomaly. Drill-holes NPRC084 and NPRC085 were drilled to 238m and 301m, respectively. Both holes intercepted thick ultramafics, with magnetite observed within the planned target intervals.

Unfortunately, significant ground water was intercepted at approximately 200m depth in both holes which impeded the drilling; however, it was considered that both holes reached an adequate depth to test the IP target. Geochemical assays of the samples from the target intervals produced no significant results and a poor Ni:Cr ratio was observed in both holes, suggesting that the intercepted ultramafic unit was unfavourable for nickel sulphide mineralisation. The Company believes the chargeability anomaly is likely to have been caused by the magnetite mineralisation and possibly the deep saline aquifer.

 

Auroch Managing Director Aidan Platel commented:

 

“The results from the recent RC drilling into the shallow nickel mineralisation correlated well with the historic drilling in the area, which is a great result as it means we can now update the MRE and potentially increase the proportion of Indicated Resources, which is important to the ongoing Scoping Study looking towards potential short-term mining of the shallow nickel mineralisation.

On the exploration front we continue to work up new targets and systematically test them for potential new nickel sulphide discoveries.”

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